MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly
by Kaijo
Summary: When even a new prophecy by Carim is unable to fully prepare Nanoha for what is to come, she must learn to confront her own inner darkness if she is to save the child growing within her. And Vivio, too, must come of age and confront her own destiny...
1. Casting Shadows

Beginning Author's Notes: IMPORTANT! This is a continuation of my Crisis series. As such, in order to fully understand what is going on, it is recommended that you read the following fics first:

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Crisis

Red Jewel Diaries

Recollections of a Lost Age

Also, it is recommended that you are familiar with Sound Stage X and Vivid.

Xx~~*~~xX

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 1: Casting Shadows**

Xx~~*~~xX

The only illumination came from the half-dozen torches lining the chamber, their flickering blaze casting dancing shadows along the chamber walls. In silence, they observed the entry of their representatives, five hooded and cloaked individuals who came to stand under their respective torch. The constant shifting of light occasionally exposed small portions of white, expressionless masks hidden underneath the hoods, further obscuring identity of the room's occupants from any casual observer.

"I am Lance," came the female voice of the first, speaking the ritualized words. "I am the guide, pointing the way our destiny lies. What comrades have I?"

"I am Sword," intoned the second, female, in a stoic tone. "I part the darkness with my blade, giving light the avenue to shine."

One by one, each of the five recited their identifying pledges with a solemn air, that spoke both to the reverence each had for this meeting.

I am Bow. I give strength and support those that fight for the light." A lighter voice this time, but still identifiable as male, with firm, yet determined undertones.

"I am Ax," spoke the fourth, a deeper voice that indicated he was male as well. "By my hand, the unrighteous are cleaved apart from the righteous."

Gazes turned to the fifth and last member, who spoke with the strongest fervor of all. "I am Dagger, he who watches the back of those that fight for the light. May the light of the Saint guide our way towards vanquishing the darkness, empowering those who ceaselessly and tirelessly protect humanity from that which would destroy it."

"And once more, you just have to put on a show," Ax accused in tired, but derogatory tone.

"Perhaps because you don't seem to take what is to come seriously enough," Dagger shot back.

"Silence, Ax, we must observe proper protocol," Lance admonished him. "And Dagger, there is no need for provocation here. We are all aware of the seriousness of the coming event." He paused to clear his throat. "I call this meeting to order. As you all know, the time of trial is approaching, and we must now make a decision as to our course of action. Up until now, we have been divided. But if our world, and the universe at large, are to survive what is to come, we must be united to lead it from darkness and into the light. I open the floor for last words, and then we will cast our votes."

"I still believe we should approach her and explain our cause," Sword stated with her usual tough, but feminine voice. "I believe she will understand and consent to what must be done."

"_The sun shall darken and the skies turn red, as the land that guards the many seas, shall be the first to slip into eternal nightmare_," Dagger began to quote.

"_Good shall become evil and three who have been kept apart by time shall unite. The King shall be consumed by darkness, and be no more._" Bow finished for him. "We all know the prophecy, which is why all of us have taken the vow to protect the light from the darkness."

"We all know who the King is," Dagger stated with barely contained hostility. "Do you really think she'll allow her daughter to be sacrificed for the greater good? If she says, as you all know she will, then we are exposed, and our task made more difficult. If we are to lead, we must be decisive and take action. The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. The cause is too important!"

"Much as it pains me, I am forced to agree with Dagger," Ax added with a disgruntled sigh, nodding towards the other man. "There is no room for difference of opinion here, not when our cause is righteous. We cannot suffer darkness, lest it gain a foothold. I know her well; she is not one to accept or understand our ways, much like the rest of the Bureau. She must be dealt with."

"Easier said than done, my dear Ax," Lance added in an amused tone, which the others found unusual for her. "While the idea of crossing spells with her interests me, I have to admit it might not end well. She single-handily defeated the reincarnated Saint. I don't relish my chances."

"And any mother will not hesitate to act when their offspring has been taken," Sword added, giving the impression of a challenging stare as she met each masked gaze in turn. "Given their bond, if you want the Saint to be cooperative, you will need her. The texts we have come across while researching the prophecy, hint that she may be required, too."

"Ah, but that's where you are mistaken," Dagger countered, delight in his tone as he brought out a covered object. Now was his time to show the half-witted fools that he was more than capable of dealing with everything. "For I have at last located the eight-sided mirror!" He slid the black cloth partially off the object, revealing a gold, ornate, octagonal mirror.

"You actually found it!" Ax blurted, disbelief evident in his surprised voice even as he covered his eyes with his hand. "Careful, idiot! If the legends are even remotely true, you shouldn't completely uncover it! That lost logia is incredibly dangerous!"

Under his mask, Dagger grinned, but he did replace the cover on the object. "It was discovered on an unadministered planet, where the natives are ignorant of magic, instead relying on technology. So they had no idea what it is they had in their possession. I was able to trade some of Ax's weapons data for it. Since then, I have studied the device and have confirmed its origins, as well as its powers. With this, we can go ahead with my plan."

Silence descended upon the chamber, the torches paying no real heed to the dissension and contemplation within. While each was leader of their own particular sect, branches that had separated from the main Saint Church hundreds of years ago with slightly different beliefs, they were still united in one purpose. And right now, that singular purpose is what held them together, rendering any other disagreements minor by comparison. With the fate of the world, and the entire universe, at stake, dissension could not be tolerated.

"Bow, you have been mostly silent thus far," Lance spoke up, breaking the temporary lull. "What say you?"

"I have been divided over this issue myself, for reasons long stated by others here," Bow replied thoughtfully. "And while I am initially inclined to agree with Sword, I must admit, we are facing a dire crisis and ultimately, we cannot afford the chance of failure. Dagger's plan, if the lost logia will work as intended, seems to be our best option at this time. My sect wants concrete action, and is worried that the main church will step in before we are ready."

Sword shot a gaze over to Bow, which he met evenly, and then shook his head ever so slightly. Dagger glanced from person to person, his thoughts jubilant. [I have them! Sword will still vote against me, and perhaps Lance, too. But with Bow's swing vote along with Ax's, I hold the advantage, 3 to 2!]

"All of our sects face that same danger," Lance intoned with solemn reprieve. "The rest of humanity would not understand, which is why we hold these meetings in secret. We have been charged with a terrible responsibility, and it is up to us to lead mankind out of the coming darkness and back into the light."

"What about the others?" Sword questioned, laying the charge into the open. "If they join forces again, the way they did against Jail, we won't stand a chance."

"This is true, we cannot directly stand up to them," Dagger answered her, pleased he got the indications of surprise from her; she probably didn't expect him to outright admit that. "But indirectly, we are more than capable. Everyone has a weakness, and we can exploit theirs to divide and turn them against each other, keeping them off balanced and distracted while we are free to move. Already, our agents are moving into proper position, the product of years of preparation." The fervor in his pitch began to grow. "The darkness in their own hearts will be what defeats them, and enables our advantage. Never forget the righteousness that guides our hearts. If we do not stray from the path, then we cannot lose!"

Lance nodded. "We have indeed spent years grooming our people for this, and they are a resource not to be treated lightly. At any rate, the time for debate is over, and we must cast votes. To keep things simple, raise your hand if you agree with Dagger's plan."

Under his mask, the slow smile grew wider, as Dagger's initial observations proved correct; the members votes exactly as he expected them to; Sword and Lance were against the plan, while Ax and Bow voted with Dagger to put his plan into motion.

"Then as we have voted, let us now put aside our differences and be united under Dagger's stratagem," Lance decreed, meeting each member's gazes, who nodded in turn. They each knew what they faced, and knew that they couldn't afford to act against each other. "And let lay our united hearts bare to our Beloved Saint, so that we may bring her honor and glory. Dagger, have you any immediate need for our support?"

"I have the necessary mages and ritual prepared, so I can act immediately," he replied thoughtfully. "I will just need the necessary intelligence reports I have been receiving, in order to properly plan out what is to come."

Lanced nodded. "Then we adjourn for now, and may we all bring the Saint honor, as we look forward to her true rebirth, and her sacrifice."

The torches continued to flicker, offering no disagreement, just silent observation. They had no way of knowing that they bore witness to the small ripple that would soon expand and consume an entire planet, with repercussions that would affect the entire universe.

x~~*~~x

"You look more worn out than me!" Nanoha mused aloud to the holographic video screen.

"Tell me about it," Hayate huffed, then blew out a long breath. "I just finished a meeting with Auris. According to her, the council has seemingly grown more and more combative over the proposed reforms to streamline the Bureau and make it more transparent and accountable in an effort to fight corruption."

"You don't want want happened with Regius to happen again," Nanoha noted. She knew her old friend well; that line of thought formed the basis for a lot of Hayate's motivation lately.

The Naval Investigation Commander nodded. "I thought the civilian council elected to replace the brain council that Due killed, would be more eager to institute these reforms, but it didn't take them long to resort to petty spats. Their flight during the Al-Hazard crisis a couple of years ago made them look bad to the rest of the population, appearing to abandon Mid-Childa to save themselves, so they were more eager to address those reforms in order to shore up popular support. But now that time has passed, that incident has faded from the public's mind. And so things have once more resorted to politics as usual. Also, entrenched interests still exist, and very much desire the status quo of secrecy."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow. "Something's different this time, though."

Hayate paused, pursed her lips, and then nodded. "At least, Auris thinks so. Thanks to support from Genya and Carim, she has quite a bit of pull on the council, but she confessed that it is starting to look like someone is fighting her, however she doesn't know who or why. Still, she feels like there is a deliberate push to keep certain things secret..Apparently, what stays in the shadow, doesn't want the light shined on it. And it makes sense that the brain council had more going on than just Regius. We never did figure out how they created Jail or who worked on that project, after all."

"Do you want my help?" Nanoha asked without hesitation.

Surprised graced Hayate's face for a few seconds, before she smiled and shook her head. "Thank you, but no. You still have four months left; your only duty is that child! You know the regulations about mothers-to-be staying off duty. That, and after all you've done, you need to rest your wings for awhile."

The pregnant woman smiled fondly while rubbing her enlarged belly. "I know you're right, but I still want to help my friends. I think that's been the hardest part of all this; being forced on maternity leave. And my wife and husband have told me the same things."

Fate, more so than Yuuno, had been vocal about Nanoha needing to rest and take care of her child. Of course, both had been great spouses, taking turns helping her out with the housework and Vivio. Although she suspected it was more to keep an eye on her so she didn't overexert herself; her fond smile only grew at the notion of them being worrywarts.

"I remember almost having to order you," Hayate mused with a wry smile. Then she shook her head. "No, I'll deal with this, somehow. I'd like to have Fate, Shari, and Teana back to help with the investigation, but they are indisposed with another mission right now."

Nanoha nodded. "Fate has been off on that mission for over a month now, although she said she might be back in a few days to visit." She turned thoughtful. "Do you or Auris have any leads?"

"Some," Hayate answered, sitting back in her chair. "General Atrai on the council has been one of the bigger proponents of trying to keep the civilian government out of military secrets, under the guise of interplanetary security. He seems to be gathering more and more support, but Auris isn't sure how he's doing it."

"I know him," Nanoha revealed, thoughtful. "He was one of my instructors after I joined the Bureau. He's a powerful and capable mage in his own right who has been in the military awhile, but I was always a bit uncomfortable around him. I guess his dismissive views on normal humans always rubbed me the wrong way."

"He does feel that mages are superior and thus should be the ones leading," Hayate agreed. "But he's always been a patriot, and acquitted himself well in the Cradle and Al Hazard incidents, so his loyalty was never much in doubt."

Nanoha remembered them both well, having been involved deeply in them. The Cradle was where she fought against Vivio in order to reclaim her daughter. And she'd never forget Precia arriving on Mid-Childa piloting the lost city of Al Hazard. Fate had lost her real mother that day, who had somehow survived her plunge from the Garden of Time all those years ago. Nanoha, too, had lost a pair of people she had felt a close kinship with: clones of her brother and sister.

"Well, I'm sure you and Auris will figure everything out," Nanoha stated with a confident smile after a moment.

Hayate couldn't help but catch the infectious smile. "That's so like you, always believing everything will turn out right. Sometimes I have to wonder how you can always think like that. I must admit that, no matter how much I want to think like that, I always have a few small doubts because I was unable to save Reinforce."

In one of those rare moments, Nanoha was unable to think of anything to say. Reinforce's death had been partly her fault, but it had been what old unison device and Book of Darkness AI had wanted. It was something that, in hindsight, she might not have done; but at the time, she had been swayed by Reinforce's words that her death was the only way to protect Hayate.

"We're home!" Yuuno called from the entryway, sparing Nanoha from thinking up a response. "Vivio, take your shoes off first."

Hayate's smile became a mixture of amusement and fondness. "Well, I'll let you go. Take care!"

Nanoha replied similarly and signed off, just before a bundle of energy zoomed into the living room and attached itself to her waist. "Mama!"

Nanoha turned and knelt down to hug her daughter with delight. "How was your day? Were there any problems?"

"Nope, I got mainly all A's!" Vivio declared proudly, showcasing the strip of paper with her scores. "Although Rio got higher magic scores and Corona got higher on the written knowledge test." Her smiled turned into a bit of a pout.

"That just means you're well-rounded," Nanoha assured her, patting the young girl on the head as she leaned back up. "Now be a good girl and go get cleaned up for dinner!" Her adopted daughter obediently complied and scampered off. She looked up as Yuuno put a couple of bags on the counter. "Did you get everything at the market?"

"Most of it," he answered, wiping his brow. "But that one store was out of that sauce you like. Said they'd have some more tomorrow. I'll see if I can squeeze in a trip tomorrow when I come home."

"No, I'll get it," Nanoha insisted with a shake of her head. "And before you say anything, I'll be fine. I can't have you and Fate doing everything for me, as if I were helpless. I need to get out of the house and do things for myself occasionally. The market isn't that far away."

Yuuno almost looked like he would argue, and then shook his head with a smile. "I should know I can't argue with you." He sat down beside his wife and draped an arm around her shoulders while giving her a kiss. "I hate to leave, but I'll need to head out back to the library after dinner, where I'll be staying all night. I need to complete that research project for Enforcer Sephia so she can wrap up her case."

"But you'll be back tomorrow, right?" Nanoha inquired, leaning in and settling her head against his shoulder. "Vivio will be sleeping over at Rio's, and if Fate can make it back, it'll be just the three of us, so I wanted to make something special."

"I'm hoping so, but since the Bureau has grown, there have been more requests lately that I'm finding it hard to keep up," the Infinity Librarian admitted. "Arf used to help out some, but she's back on Earth now with Arisa's new unit. Vivio has turned out to be surprisingly talented in the use of search spells, which has really helped me out, but she has her school work to focus on."

Even though she knew there was nothing to be done, Nanoha couldn't help but feel a little let down, but before she could even think to vocalize her thoughts, a ringing sound from the kitchen caused her to shoot to her feet. "Oh, almost forgot I need to check the stew!"

"I'll help!" Yuuno stated, following her into the kitchen. "I feel bad for Fate, though, who has to miss out on these home-cooked meals."

x~~*~~x

Fate Scrya Takamachi sneezed, then rubbed her nose as she looked over the information on the holographic screen; so far, the operations had been going smoothly. If she didn't know any better, it would almost seem too smooth. Just a short distance away was the pirate's secret hideout, under the cliffs in the shadow of a mountain. It was from here that they launched their raids on ships in the sector, but they hadn't been able to find it until the bureau received an mysterious hint as to the location. Had someone in the pirate group ratted them out? Or had it been a local that found them? Either way, no one had stepped up to receive the reward for the tip, so it was still unknown.

"The pirates are secure," Teana Lanster announced, coming up behind the other woman. "We really got the drop on them this time; no one escaped. The enforcer squad has taken custody of them."

"Thanks, and I appreciate your help on this," Fate replied, looking up with a smile."Since you got your full Enforcer Agent status, you're not officially my partner anymore, so you have your choice of assignments."

"Doesn't mean I can't help out with your bigger cases from time to time," Teana declared with a wink. "Besides, I was in the area for the first one, and then the next, and things just spiraled from there... " She trailed off and shrugged. "What are you up to now?"

"I was just going over their history reports," Fate told her, returning to her screen. "This particular group has been operating for some time, below the Bureau's radar. Before, they seemed to almost know where we were and were able to hide themselves fairly easily."

Teana glanced at the holographic screen and tilted her head. "So you're saying there's more to this then just our luck with an anonymous tip that led us to their location? What would anyone have to gain by doing that?"

Fate sighed and closed the screen. "Perhaps I am over-thinking this too much; luck does play a role in our line of work from time to time, too."

A new video screen opened nearby, showing the local enforcer squad commander. "Pardon the intrusion, but we're just about to transport out with the prisoners, and we've received a new message for you. I'm putting it through now."

"Thank you, commander," Fate replied, nodded as he saluted and signed out and she had Bardiche decode the attached text package.

"What is it?" Teana asked, look over the green screen as scrambled words slowly became recognizable.

Fate's eyes narrowed. "More orders from the Bureau. There's another request to assist some locales with the Orion crime syndicate on a planet a couple of teleports away."

"Wait, I think I read something about that in the files awhile back," Teana stated, thinking. "They're supposed to have fingers in several pies on many worlds; protection, extortion, smuggling, the works. The few members we've apprehended so far have been small fry that didn't know much. They haven't directly confronted us so far, but they've been pretty good at sneaking around with semi-legitimate business. They also tend to operate mostly outside of Bureau space."

"And apparently the Bureau has received a good, solid lead on the upper echelons of the organization, and they want us to check it out," Fate intoned, her gut feelings giving her pause again.

"Another anonymous tip?" Teana ventured.

Fate nodded, then sighed and turned the screen off. "But as you said, there's no reason why someone would deliberately help us shut down groups of pirates and crime syndicates."

"Unless it's someone using us to get rid of competition?" the other agent ventured. "I've learned to trust your judgment, and I have to admit, mine is becoming curious, too. This is the third group we've been able to deal with easily, due to an anonymous tip."

Fate closed the screen. "Perhaps, but for now, let's get back to town. I owe you dinner as a proper congratulations for making AA rank!"

Teana allowed herself a small blush. "Thanks, but it was nothing. Subaru and Erio made AA rank as well. Although Caro is still A+, she should be able to catch up before the end of the year with ease."

"I'll owe you all a dinner when we get back!" Fate told her partner as the two women took to the skies.

"Given our current workload, that'll be awhile," Teana noted wryly.

Fate didn't reply, as despite her efforts to rationalize the circumstances of their latest cases, her thoughts were still troubled.

x~~*~~x

"...and the 38th mobile division is still assisting with the cleanup on Administered world #42," Genya finished in his capacity as Marshal of the Armed Forces; a post he had held since Largo died during the Al-Hazard incident a year ago. He leaned back in his comfy office chair and let out a breath. "And those are all the unit movements and assignments currently. We are stretched a bit thin at the moment, but I don't foresee any issues."

Leone Phils closed his notepad. "Well, I think that sums things up for this meeting. The next council session is in three days, so we'll need to be properly prepared."

The third member in the room, the current Bureau Chief of Staff, didn't make any moves to close up her data screens. "We're still ignoring a vital subject."

Genya sighed. "I know what you're getting at, Auris: General Atrai. Yes, he can come off a bit-"

"Prejudiced?" Auris supplied a bit darkly.

"I was going to say 'strong-willed,'" Genya corrected, somewhat amused. But he sobered quickly. "I've known the man for a long time. He means well, even if he can come off a bit stubborn."

Having been given the post of Bureau Chief of Staff by Hayate, Auris had leapt into her role with considerable vigor. She had been given a second chance by a woman she had initially disliked, and thus had come to see her in a new light. Given what became of the JS incident, Auris had realigned her love of rules as influenced by Hayate's strong idealism.

She raised an eyebrow. "A bit? He practically called for your resignation on the council floor because you weren't a mage and thus didn't understand the issues. He called for all three of us to resign, and for our positions to be filled by mages, because mages were the only ones who could truly protect Mid-Childa, and thus only a mage should be in charge of other mages."

"He has a point, much as I don't want to admit it," Leone interjected, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Bureau has placed it's power in magical hands, thus it is mainly mages who have been handling the danger we come up against. Largo and Midget were both mages, so he was mostly placated. But with their passing, and non-mages replacing them, I can see how Atrai would be troubled."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you three also decided on a civilian government to reign in the military, lest we let what happened with my father, happen again," Auris stated pointedly at him. "That meant six elected civilian seats on the council, a majority, over two military seats and our three. The second military seat, Colonel Jaconz, is supportive of General Atrai. But somehow he has swayed three of the civilian seats about the importance of his cause. That brings him up to five seats, a near-majority."

"Based on these reports I am getting from groups operating outside Bureau space, and the slow spread of anti-magic technology leftover from Jail, I understand his concern," Genya admitted. "But the Bureau has placed all it's eggs in the magical basket, repeatedly telling the people that clean, magic-based technology is the way to go. We can't very well tell them that might not be the case anymore. And so we need to develop other technology in secret."

Auris slammed a pad down. "But that's exactly what Jail was doing, developing technology in secret! I thought we all agreed that wasn't the right way to go!"

"This new technology will still require mages," Genya soothed. "But it still needs to be developed correctly. You know about it; you signed off on the memo authorizing its development."

The Bureau Chief of Staff sighed. "But that still leaves us with Atrai. Perhaps its my instincts from serving under my father, but I don't fully trust him. He's up to something; I just don't know what."

"We appreciate your instincts, and for what it's worth, I do agree with you," Leone offered, surprising Auris. He stood up and straightened his uniform before glancing out the window of the high-rise government building. "But for now, he hasn't done anything wrong. We'll keep an eye on him. He still needs six people to force any resolutions through the council; he only has five at most."

Auris finally stood as well, closing her data screens. "I hope you're right, for all our sakes."

She was conscious of Genya and Leone's gazes on her as she headed for the door. But it wasn't until she was seemingly alone in an empty hallway, before she paused and waited.

"The cameras and scanners in this area have been hacked, no one will hear or see anything out of the ordinary," came an almost bored voice from the air around her. Then it promptly turned amused and almost eager. "And we can end all your other problem just as easily."

"I told you before, we're not killing anyone," Auris told her, letting out a slightly annoyed breath.

"Shame, really," the invisible Quattro replied with an equal sigh. "But are you sure? Tre and I can slip in and out from the shadows, making it look like an accident, and no one would be the wise-ow!"

"You heard what she said!" an equally invisible Tre barked. "We don't do that anymore! We just guard her and investigate!"

Auris couldn't suppress a smile. On a suggestion from Hayate, she had freed Quattro, Tre, and Sette from their rehabilitation center. The three had finally decided to repent after the death of Jail, and had assisted in the defense of Mid-Childa during the Al-Hazard incident, but they still lacked a place they could go to. Not wanting to go with either the church or with the Nakajima clan, and knowing that it would be uncomfortable working directly with the Armed Forces they had fought against, Auris had given them a new option: work directly for her. Officially, they were her bodyguards. Unofficially, she used them to carry out operations that were slightly off the books. She didn't want to, but she couldn't shake the feeling that actions like this were needed. She justified it as a necessary, and only to protect the peace of Hayate's vision.

"Stick to your assignment, please," she said at last.

"You already having us trail and investigate Atrai secretly, which is technically illegal without an official investigation stamp," Quattro pointed out. "Although we haven't found anything yet. Whatever he's up to - and I'm very confident he is hiding something - he's doing a fine job of keeping it secret. I'm impressed." Her tone of voice indicated a high degree of professional respect for her target.

"We'll work from the shadows for now, with surveillance and investigation only," Auris reminded them again. "If, at such time, I determine we need to eliminate someone for the greater good, I will give the order. Not before. And hopefully, we won't need to, not if we can gather enough evidence first."

"Suit yourself, but my way would be easier," Quattro taunted before giving up. "Well, targeted assassinations are more Due's territory anyway. And there is only so much three of us can do, if you really plan on going this route."

Auris closed her eyes and took a breath, reminding herself why she was doing this, and the promise she made to herself. [Hayate, I will walk in the shadows, so you don't have to. You play the hero, the role you are good at. And I will support from behind, doing what you cannot. I will do my best to walk the line. Even though I don't believe blind idealism can truly work, I'll trust your judgment for now.]

When she opened her eyes again, all doubt and uncertainty was mostly gone. "Enough chat, it's time to get back to work. I believe it's time to relieve Sette of her tracking duties."

There was no response to that as she began walking, but she didn't expect it. Her mind was already focusing forward, on the tasks she would have to perform. Both legal, and otherwise.

x~~*~~x

"Mama, over here!" Vivio called happily, ducking into one of the small shops.

Nanoha allowed herself a small smile, recognizing it as a toy store. "In a bit! I need to finish getting groceries."

Yuuno had volunteered yesterday to pick things up on his way home, but it would mean he'd have to leave work early, and she didn't want to put him out. She also wanted to continue being as independent as possible; she had managed to take care of herself and Vivio this far, and she wasn't about to stop now. Her smile widened a bit more when she recalled talking with Shamal long ago, about how she was supposed to take it easy, but she was the type of person to do that. As long as there was a job to do, she'd do it.

She finished paying the lady in the fruit stall for her purchase, and then moved on, glancing down the market road, lined with various vendors. She always liked this particular spot, as it reminded her of the market her own mother used to take her back in Uminari. She preferred buying from locales, and was a large reason why she procured a house in this area; it was close to this type of market.

"HEY!" a voice shouted out suddenly. "STOP! THIEF!"

Nanoha turned as a quick-moving form nearly ran her down. Reacting on instinct, she quickly raised her left hand and fired off a single magical shot. Her aim was true, impacting the back of the thief before he could get too far. And then Nanoha stared in disbelief as his body was launched into the air from the force of impact, heading straight towards a wall. She quickly thrust out her other hand and concentrated harder, encapsulating the body with her magic and slowing his movement, stopping him mere inches from the wall and setting his unconscious body down.

Nanoha stared at her hand as she quickly trotted over to the man she had just downed; she hadn't meant for her spell to be that powerful. What had happened? Worried, she turned him over, but was relieved to see he was still breathing.

"Are you okay?" she asked, seeing his eyes flickering open.

"Thank for you stopping him!" an elderly male voice sounded from behind her. She glanced up to see him kneel down and take the object wrapped in cloth the man was cradling against his chest. "And thank goodness it is still intact." He looked up at her smiled.

Nanoha shook her mind clear. "I work for the Bureau. I can contact the police if you wish to press charges."

His toothy grin was her response, even as he shook his head. "No, that's okay. I got my mirror back, so there is no harm done." He looked down, and surprisingly began helping the groggy thief up. "As long as this young man promises not to steal anymore, I see no reason to ruin his record."

Said young man promptly shook his head and came fully awake. "I promise! I'm really sorry, I just... wanted to get my girlfriend something nice for her birthday, but I couldn't afford anything..."

The elderly mirror vender looked him up and down. "I see. If you come by tomorrow, I might be able to make you something small, that I can sell to you at a discount, alright?"

The young man eagerly agreed, which made Nanoha smile as he leapt to his feet and waved goodbye, and then walked the elderly vendor back to his stall, which was full of handmade furniture items. "Well, I'm glad everything worked out well."

"This is my first day in this market, but I tend to find most people are good at heart, if you give them a chance," he explained and then proudly gestured the variety of small cabinets, nightstands, and hand-crafted lamps around his stand. "I move around to peddle my wares throughout Mid-Childa, little knick-kancks I make myself, like this." He carefully unwrapped the object the young thief had stolen, showcasing an octagonal mirror in a bronze octagonal setting.

Nanoha felt her eyes lock onto her image in the mirror, something about it causing her to unfocus slightly, as if she was compelled to keep staring. In some ways, in almost felt like she was going to be drawn into another world. The hustle and bustle of the marketplace around her faded, and the only thing that mattered was how her reflection stared back at her. But something wasn't right; were those really her eyes?

"Miss?" the elderly man questioned, covering up the mirror. "Are you okay?"

She finally snapped out of it, a bit confused. What had happened? "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." She shook her head. "Anyway, I'll bring my friends and family around sometime in the next few days. We could always use a well handcrafted item to brighten up our house!"

"Many thanks!" he offered profusely. "I'll have a selection of my finest items for you!"

She smiled, somehow warmed by his friendliness, and bid him adieu before locating Vivio at the toy shop and moving on with her shopping. But she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach. She attributed it to her unexpectedly more-powerful-than-normal spell, but she'd just have to ask Shamal at her next checkup.

x~~*~~x

Torches once again lined the walls of the cavern that night, but it was one far larger than the one Dagger had occupied in his meeting a couple of nights ago. And as before, those torches would be witness to something world-changing, although it would be quite awhile before the world noticed those effects. For now, they could only flicker in silent observation of the white pentagram drawn on the ground, a hooded figure at each point, while an octagonal mirror rested in the center.

One of the hooded figures raised his hands, and Dagger spoke from under the white mask he was still wearing. "Begin the ceremony."

Magical circles flared to life underneath the feet of the five as they brought their power to bear, and the mirror left the ground and began to float. As the five mages poured their magic in, the mirror began to spin, emitting a faint pink glow that grew stronger and stronger over time.

"Keep it steady," Dagger commanded, then began his incantation. "By the ancient pact, I invoke the eight sides; bring us the one we have chosen. Across time and space, we beseech the ancient gods to answer our plea and bequeath unto us our chosen vessel!"

x~~*~~x

In her house, Nanoha began to toss and turn, still asleep, her dreams growing increasingly distressful. She whimpered, her body beginning to glow a faint pink, which slowly increased in brightness while she tossed and turned. Vivio whined a bit in her sleep, as she felt her mama roll away and leave her grasp.

x~~*~~x

Back in the cavern, the chanting and humming had reached a crescendo, and suddenly ceased as the ceremony reached it's peak. The mirror stopped spinning and floated face down, a volume of pink energy poured out of the reflective face, which coalesced on the stone floor. The surrounding mages watched in awe, as the oozing pink magic slowly pulled together and took human form.

"Do it now!" Dagger ordered, as the his five subordinate mages raised their hands and chanted under their breath.

Many circular binds, inlaid with magical symbols, appeared around the arms, legs and body of the human form and then implanted themselves into it shortly before the form began fully human.

"Welcome to our service, Nanoha Takamachi," he intoned with a smile. "I trust you are well?"

With surprising speed, she thrust her hand up and grabbed his throat, hissing with a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

Dagger quickly got over his surprise and gestured his own hand, which promptly wrenched the one from his neck. "We've implanted control spells throughout your body. They cannot be removed, except by me. With a minor flick of my wrist, I can stop your heart, cause your kidneys to explode, or..." He glanced farther down.

Her whole body suddenly convulsed in painful spasms, which forced her to her hands and knees, the shock therapy ending shortly thereafter. When she raised her head again, a venomous glare was directed his way, but she didn't speak.

Dagger made a small show of dusting his robe. "There, I trust we understand each other now? Work with us, and everything will turn out wonderfully for you. Those who serve the light are well-rewarded. Those who don't, well,... it is our mission to exterminate darkness without fail."

She finally seemed to gather enough strength to stand, although she was a bit unsteady on her feet, while giving him a hard glare. "Fine. For now."

Under his mask, Dagger grinned. "Excellent. Then we have much to discuss."

x~~*~~x

In her mama's bed, Vivio wimpered in her sleep, her arm searching for something that was no longer there. But then her hands found the body again, and she clutched tightly to it. Nanoha paused to smile and stroke her daughter's hair, then closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

In Crisis, I used slightly different names for the three old admirals of the Bureau, but I'm hopefully using the more correct versions of them here: Largo, Midget, and Leone. The first two, if you remember, died in Crisis, and their positions filled by Genya and Auris, respectively.

Anyway, this fic will have a bit more political intrigue, and also probably more than one faction acting as antagonists. More than that, I cannot say, but all will be revealed in due time. This takes place about the same time as G-Squad(Mirror starts a month or two later), but that focuses on Earth, while this one focuses on the main characters on Mid-Childa. There won't be any real crossing over between the two fics, although mentions will probably be made of a connection or two. Stay tuned...


	2. Nightfall

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 2: Nightfall**

Xx~~*~~xX

"...and so I'll be away for at least another week, maybe two," Fate said from the screen. "I'm sorry, I really wanted to be there for-"

"It's okay, Fate-chan," Nanoha soothed, smiling. "I know how much your work means to you, and I know you're helping a lot of people. You should know by now we understand. Yuuno and Vivio will understand, too."

"I'm sorry," Fate apologized again with a short bow, and then she looked up, her expression thoughtful. "It still bothers you, doesn't it?"

Nanoha knew to what she was referring. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't. I would like to be back on duty, helping to train new mages." She placed a hand on her belly. "But we decided to have a child, and so I know this is only temporary." Unspoken was one of the letters from her parents, that stated that Kyoya and Shinobu couldn't have children for some reason, and there was no idea when Miyuki might find someone. While they never said it out loud, Nanoha could read her parent's unvoiced wish about continuing the Takamachi line. With that thought, she began to ask, "Have you decided if-"

Fate quickly shook her head. "No, at least, not at this time. I am happy with Vivio, Erio and Caro. And there is also Karel and Liera I can see from time to time. I'm content with that, and my work." She smiled warmly. "And your baby as well."

As she suspected, the uncomfortableness was there again, hidden behind Fate's smile. It only further confirmed Nanoha's suspicions that Fate was uncomfortable with the idea of having a child, but she didn't know why. Did Fate think she couldn't have one, being a clone? Shamal had confirmed that Fate was perfectly human, and thus was capable. Maybe Fate was unsure or uncomfortable with the prospect of childbirth in general. Of course, Nanoha was a bit uneasy, too, but that hadn't stopped her from tackling difficult choices before.

She decided she wouldn't press the issue, and perhaps see that when Nanoha made it through her pregnancy fine, and was holding a new life, Fate might change her mind. "Alright, as long as you're happy. I just hope you can make it home soon; I do miss you."

Fate's visage softened, even she smiled fondly. "I miss you, too. I'll try to arrange something in the next week or two. Don't you have a checkup with Shamal today? Maybe she can help with your restlessness."

Nanoha nodded. "Yes. And I will go, no need to worry. It was just a bit of a bad dream; I don't even remember it much."

Fate studied her partner's face for a moment. "Alright, I have to go now, but you take care. I love you."

"I love you, too," Nanoa replied easily, the atmosphere between them changing almost instantly, with all questions and doubt fading away, replaced by fondness.

Despite whatever else may come between them, there was always that bond that would hold them together, no matter what.

x~~*~~x

"An interesting, if dangerous, game you're playing, Dagger," the woman in the corner offered absently, continuing to clean her gun device as the other man entered. "Are you sure it's okay to let her go like that?"

Dagger sat down in front of his large computer, observing data on several screens. "We can track her anywhere, and we'll know if she does anything outside of the plan. But don't worry, she won't betray us. She can't. The powerful spells we have placed on her assure that."

"I wasn't quite referring to her, but to your real plans, concerning-"

"Do you play chess, Grenada?" Dagger suddenly asked, although he continued without waiting for an answer. "Some might say the queen is the most powerful piece on the board, but it is the king. For only he who holds the king in the end, wins the game." He swiveled in his chair to face her, and she got the impression there was a grin under his mask. "And I hold not one, but two kings... or perhaps they might be considered queens. It is proof that I alone am worthy of the task laid before us. The others dither about, unwilling and unable to make the hard decisions necessary to ensure the survival of humanity. Thus, it is only I who can deal with the coming calamity."

It was times like this, when Grenada could sense the sheer force of personality from the man; it was for that reason that she was willingly joined him, even though she didn't yet know his real identity. All her life she had simply flitted about, doing what she willed with the power she possessed. But it was Dagger who had finally given her purpose. He was the flame, and she was the moth, and it might end up burning her some day... but she didn't care. In fact, in made her that much more excited.

Her eager grin stretched from ear to ear. "And I merely want a spot in this new world you will create. I haven't lived this long, without being able to tell which way the wind blows. A bullet can only travel in the direction the gunner aims it, after all."

"Stick to your role, and your place in the kingdom to come shall be assured," Dagger told her, then returned to observing his screens. "The light rewards those who are diligent. And I wouldn't have saved you, had you not shown the potential for serving the light."

Grenada raised her weapon, which resembled an Earth Uzi, glancing down the sight as she pointed it into the shadow of a nearby corner. "And you have been silent all this time."

"I have nothing to say," a light female voice sounded from the corner. Her face was obscured by shadow, but a streak of light revealed small locks of pale green hair around her shoulders. "I only seek one thing."

"And that is what I will deliver to you," Dagger directed toward his other subject, obscured in shadow. Then he swiveled back to face his gun-device-toting underling. "You, my dear Grenada, need only direct your concerns to yourself."

Grenada shook her head, still not quite understanding what Dagger's game was; he was incredibly secretive. "As I said before, interesting game you're playing. So many people with so many desires, and yet you bring them together and manipulate them well."

Somehow, the expressionless mask seemed well suited to Dagger's next line. "It is a game I must play well, if I am to save all of us."

x~~*~~x

"Did you finish your assignment yet, Corona?" Rio asked as the three friends collected belongings at their lockers. Vivio turned her head to catch the reply, ignoring the hustle and bustle of various schoolkids mulling about in the hallway.

The auburn-haired, and shyest member of the trio, raised her head. "The essay about what we want to be when we grow up? Yes, I finished it several days ago."

Rio grimaced and planted her hands on her hips. "Figures. You always finish them so early! Let me guess... you wanted to be a librarian in the Infinity Library?"

Corona embarrassed blush was all the confirmation needed, and she desperately sought to take the focus of attention off herself. "What about you?"

The most energetic member of the small group jabbed a thumb at her own chest while displaying a proud grin. "You're looking at the future Strike Arts Champion of the universe!" She giggled at Corona and Vivio rolling their eyes, and then focused in on the latter. "What about you, Vivio? Did you finish it? What do you want to do?"

"Um, I actually haven't finished yet..." she started to say.

"What?" Rio nearly shrieked. "I actually finished an assignment _before_ Vivio?" She eyed the other girl. "You didn't lose your ability to write or something, did you?"

Vivio shook her head. "I just wasn't quite sure... the directions were to limit it to being one thing, and I don't know how to do that. I feel like I want to try everything." Her different-colored eyes took on a bit of a glassy look, as if she was looking at something far away.

"You don't know what you want to be when you grow up?" Corona questioned.

"Not really," she admitted with an abashed look, coming back to the present. "I feel like I have lots of time, anyway, so why rush it?"

"Well, that may be, but you still have the assignment to turn in tomorrow!" Rio countered, then grinned. "Hey, maybe you can be my rival!"

"Rival?" Corona blurted, shocked.

"Well, Vivio does Strike Arts, too, and my future championship rise won't mean anything without a rival that I have to face in the final battle!" Rio explained with stars her eyes, holding up a clenched fist.

Vivio grinned and lightly pushed Corona towards the other girl. "Why me? Why not Corona for a rival?"

"I-I couldn't...!" Corona protested, cheeks blushing again.

Rio grinned, showing lots of teeth. "Maybe you could both be my rivals! Who says I need just one? But don't you want a rival, Vivio? Someone to push you to be your very best? I'm sure if you had one, you'd be able to focus on what you really want to do."

Vivio opened her mouth to reply, but was as surprised as her two friends that nothing came out. Why was that? Did she want a rival? She heard stories that her mamas used to be rivals, and it was because of Fate that Nanoha pushed herself to learn magic better and find her role in life. But what about Vivio? What did she want?

"It's okay, Vivio," Corona said softly, lightly touching the other girl's shoulder. "You don't need to know now, anyway. You'll figure it out someday."

Vivio found herself matching Corona's soft, comfortable smile. "Thanks, you always know what to say."

Rio rolled her eyes as Corona blushed again, and then pulled the girl back while giving Vivio a slight push away. "Anyway, isn't it time for your meeting now, your majesty?"

This time it was Vivio's turn to blush, but Corona came to her defense again, whirling and planting her fists on her hips. "Rio! You know she doesn't like being called that!"

But Rio was already backing up and putting her hands up in a defensive motion. "I know, I know! I'm sorry, just a little teasing."

Corona shook her head, and then turned back. "But she's right. We'll meet up with you later at the gym. Nove said she'd teach us another move today, and-h-hey!"

"We'll see you later!" Rio echoed, while dragging Corona away by her shirt collar.

Vivio couldn't help smiling and giggling as the pair moved off, now noticing that the hallway had grown mostly quiet in the meantime. It was the end of the school day, so most of the students had probably headed off already. However, today was a day that Sein and Deed needed to talk to her about a few things.

She sighed. It was tough being the reincarnated Saint. It wasn't just the expectations of the school and students, nor the repeated use of "Your Majesty" as her title; it was also all the extra stuff she had to learn about her heritage and the role she would play in the Church. Such as attending religious rituals, meeting dignitaries, and being a diplomatic figurehead. And more than one couple wanted their union blessed by the Saint. At least, that's what Otto had explained before she left for Earth. However, neither Otto nor Deed had ever made it seem like Vivio _had_ to do it, but she was old enough to see the hopes behind their eyes.

She closed her locker while slipping on her backpack and turned to head down the hall, but immediately had her movement arrested as she collided with another body.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry, I was just-" Vivio started to say as she took a step back, craning her neck up a bit to see the taller girl and the two behind her. "Quinn?"

Vivio had heard of the older girl; 16 years old, with a reputation as being a bit of a delinquent. She toed the line enough to avoid getting thrown out, but she was hardly someone you wanted to hang around. Her two lackeys were Kaena and Gwen, and for some reason, worshiped the ground Quinn walked on.

"Oh, I'm sorry,_ your majesty_," Quinn offered mockingly with a short bow. "Did I not lower my head for you?"

"Please, you don't have to call me that," Vivio insisted, but inwardly she was wondering what to do; she did have a meeting to get to. "If you'll excuse me..."

She attempted to step around Quinn, but Kaena blocked her path. "In a hurry to get somewhere, your majesty?"

Another attempt to get around Kaena, only resulted in Gwen adding to the blockade, making Vivio proclaim in a frustrated tone, "Excuse me, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

Quinn's voice echoed from behind. "Oh? The little darling of the Saint Church is actually acting serious about something? I thought she'd just be playing around as usual. After all, isn't that what she likes to do? Play and fool around and not take anything seriously? Unless it's committing mass murder, that is."

Vivio turned, her voice cracking in a way that surprised her. "I don't-"

Quinn finally leaned down and shoved her face into Vivio's space. "You don't what? Don't care? That much is obvious. You come in here and prance around like a little princess, and everything is handed to you on a silver platter. You won't get your hands dirty, and instead rely on everyone else to do it for you. Then again, you are a _King_." The last word with laced with considerable disdain and mockery.

Rio and Corona appeared to be long gone, or at least out of telepathic range, but Vivio was hesitant to call for help after what Quinn had just said. Why did it sting so much? She knew enough not to back down against bullies, and if she went into her adult form, she could probably take all three. But fighting at school was forbidden, unless it was an official match. One could be arranged if students had a disagreement, but somehow Vivio doubted Quinn would be open to that.

Quinn finally poked her chest. "Well? What are you going to do about it? Call for help, your majesty? Run away crying? Or are you going to get your own hands dirty?"

Vivio opened her mouth, but it was someone else's voice that spoke.

"That's enough, Quinn!" came the command. All four turned to see a small nun, almost half Quinn's size, stride up to the woman and place herself in front of Vivio. "If you want to deal with her majesty, you will first have to deal with me." She held up her unactivated device in the palm of her hand; a miniature pair of tonfa on a linked chain.

Quinn glared. "Chantez. I should have figured one of the King's stooges would be around." She dismissively waved her hand. "Whatever, I was just speaking my mind. Kaena, Gwen, let's go."

Just like that, the incident was over, and Vivio let out a small breath of relief. "Thank y-"

"She was partially right, you know," Chantez said suddenly, her back still to Vivio. But she turned around, her expression admonishing. "I do respect your majesty, but I wish you would take things a little more seriously. You must think of your position here, and everyone's feelings, please?"

Vivio was taken aback, but stuttered out a reply. "O-okay."

Chantez smiled and nodded, and then waved as she moved off, leaving a still-troubled and confused Sankt Kaiser behind. While Vivio was grateful that the incident was resolved peacefully, she still felt troubled inside, and she wasn't quite sure why.

x~~*~~x

_"_Here is all of the information you wanted, Miss Sephia Chevelle," the Infinity Librarian said, opening a holographic screen. "I'll transfer it to your device."

Thank you, Mr. Yuuno Harleown Takamachi," the prim and proper woman replied with a short bow, belying her nature as a dangerously-skilled Bureau Enforcer. He didn't know too much about her, as even with the Bureau, she had been more of a solitary and secretive presence. All he knew was that she was one of the few Aces of the Bureau, S rank.

Yuuno put a hand behind his head, almost embarrassed. "No need to be so formal; you can just call me Yuuno, haha!" After he laughed it off, he looked at her. "But it's not often we get someone in here requesting data on the earliest origins of magic. Will this really help with your case?"

"Partially... Mr. Yuuno," she answered, almost stumbling a bit over the shortened name. "And you may refer to me as Sephia. But in answer to your question, it might help shed light on a matter I am investigating, and perhaps change the mind of one I know. But that is all I can say. However, I must confess not all of the information requested was purely business. A small part was personal."

Realizing she wouldn't be more forthcoming, and knowing that Enforcers sometimes needed to keep some secrecy, Yuuno nodded and guessed as to which part she was referring to. "Well, as the data will show, it was the ancient Al Hazardians who we have records of being the first to make major experiments with magic, but there is evidence that it goes farther back. No one knows who became the first mage, though there are hints it was in existence and discovered by the very first humans." He shrugged and threw up his hands. "For all we know, it just might be a natural phenomenon!"

For the first time, Sephia smiled. "A natural phenomenon that can bend or ignore the very natural physical world?"

"Heh, you got me there," Yuuno admitted with a shrug. "It could indicate the presence of some intelligence, but if magic existed before our records, and is so ingrained with reality while simultaneously also able to deny it, then such an intelligence would have to have existed at the beginning of our universe."

"So why don't you say it honestly?" Sephia asked, partially teasing, but also seemingly probing for something.

He did see where she was going. "You mean, I would be referring to some sort of God?" At her nod, Yuuno shrugged again. "While I respect beliefs, like the Saint Church's, I have to admit my domain is more of the scientific nature. I can't deny that this isn't the first time I've wondered about the nature of magic in our reality, but I can't necessarily believe in a God, either, until it has been proven."

Sephia seemed to hesitate, and then pressed a small card into the palm of his hand. "It is normal to have questions and doubts. If you are curious for answers, you might like to come to one of our meetings. I must go now, but I hope to talk to you more. If not, I appreciate all your assistance."

Yuuno glanced down at the card in his hand:

_Church of Origin._

_Who am I? What is my purpose? Where are we going?_

_These are all questions we have about ourselves. Together, we can find our answers by going back to the beginning. Only by answering the questions of where we came from and why we are here, can we begin to find purpose in our lives._

What followed was the address of a small church in a small town outside of Clanagan. When he looked back up, Sephia was gone. He chuckled to himself, and then slipped the card into his pocket.

"Religion does not interest you?" Alicia questioned from the bracelet on his wrist. "I find it an interesting part of human culture. The ability to believe in things that are not proven is illogical, but fascinating. I only regret that I lose much of my knowledge of Al Hazard when I transferred to this storage device."

Yuuno shrugged. "I have to admit, religion never appealed to me much, although I didn't have anything against it. It can motivate people to act for the betterment of all, such as the Saint Church, the most popular religion on Mid-Childa." People such as Carim, Schach, and Verossa were proof of that, but he didn't feel the need to speak that part out lough. "However, as someone with a scientific mindset, unless it could be demonstrated, I'm not apt to believe in it." He put a hand behind his head and laughed. "Until 'God' decides to talk to me, I'll simply chalk it up as merely one interesting hypothesis in the sea of many."

Alicia had gone silent, as she often did, but Yuuno's mind was made up for now. He wasn't that interested in being converted at the moment, though maybe he might talk to her again about it. So, while Sephia made a convincing case, he was afraid he would have to turn her down. He'd have to make a point to return her card to her sometime later.

x~~*~~x

"You're fine, and so is the baby," Shamal confirmed with her hand on Nanoha's bare belly, greatly allaying the young woman's fears. "Klarer Wind detects no problems. If you're having trouble sleeping, though, I can prescribe some medicine which might help."

Nanoha shook her head and lowered her shirt after Shamal removed her hand. "No, I think I'll be fine. I was just a bit worried about yesterday."

The Belkan doctor opened up several holographic screens, pointing to one in particular; a reverse-color picture of her baby in the womb, with one bright spot clearly highlighted. "This might be the reason; your baby's linker core is active. I think you might have subconsciously drawn some magic from him or her, or he/she lent you some."

Nanoha was grateful Shamal was still keeping the gender of her baby a secret; the young mother-to-be wanted to be surprised at the birth. "But I thought a baby's linker core doesn't form and become active until at least a couple of years after they are born?"

"That's usually the case," Shamal confirmed. "But it's not unheard of for the unborn to have one, and have it be active; that's why I asked that you refrain from using magic until after the birth. It's not known what kind of effects it might have on your child, both short and long-term." She formed an amused smile. "Though it wouldn't be like you to let someone get away with a crime right in front of you, without doing anything."

Nanoha smiled sheepishly, knowing she had disobeyed the doctor's orders from before. But firing off that shot to stop the thief had been so second-nature that she had acted without thinking.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to refrain from now on," Nanoha offered as she slid off the examination table.

Shamal merely gave a look that said "uh huh" before closing up the holoscreens and walking Nanoha to her office door. "I don't think that brief use did anything; there is certainly no evidence of abnormalities. But if you have any other issues, no matter how minor, let me know, okay?"

"I will, and thanks," Nanoha said, allowing Shamal to open the door and see her out.

And inside, she felt better after all. So if this was the worst worries her pregnancy generated, then she realized she should count herself lucky.

x~~*~~x

"General, may I speak with you a moment?"

Atrai paused to gauge the young woman seemingly waiting for him in the hall. "Lt. Colonel Hayate Yagami. I suppose I can spare some time for you as we walk." He partially turned and handed a data pad to the other woman walking beside him. "Chiage, you know what to do with this. Have the transcripts and notes summarized for my next staff meeting, please."

"As you wish, sir," his aide-de-camp curtly replied, before taking off ahead of them down the hall.

Hayate easily fell into step beside the tall man, as he assumed a more leisurely pace. "Thank you, General. I would like to-"

"Please, just call me Atrai," the seemingly affable military man told her with a grin. Then he sobered up. "Just don't use my family name."

"I only know a bit about your family, but I suppose I can understand-"

Artrai's countenance promptly turned dark. "Please don't mention them again. I've put my past behind me."

Hayate was a bit surprised at that, but given the little she had learned about his rough childhood growing up, she supposed she couldn't blame him. However, it would make what she had to say a bit more difficult, if she couldn't put it in the context she had intended.

The General surprised her again, though, by taking the initiative. "So, Lt. Colonel Hayate Yagami, what brings the famed Naval Investigator to me? I've been watching your progress ever since you showed up in the Bureau, and I have to say, I am highly impressed, especially given your own family troubles." He leaned down a bit, dropping his voice lower. "And I don't care what people say; I don't hold the Book of Darkness incident against you at all. It took real strength to overcome, which impresses me."

Atrai was proving to be a veritable font of surprises, which was almost throwing Hayate off. "Thank you, but I had help from friends." She tried to regain her equilibrium. "But I what I wanted to talk to you about, was your Saint Church Initiative that you have pending before the council. Do you really feel it is a good idea to bring the Church under direct Bureau control?"

"Of course," he answered sharply without missing a beat. "Don't get me wrong, the Church does do a lot of good. But its autonomy is becoming a bit of a problem. For a couple of years now, my people have been hearing things, rumors coming out of the Church's territory. It has us concerned, and currently, if we want to conduct any intelligence-gathering or stage any raids, we have to coordinate with the Church."

"And why is that a problem?" Hayate countered, still trying to figure him out. She actually hadn't had much contact with the man before this, and so this was as much to understand him, as it was to talk about his initiative pending before the council. "I know Carim; she's a good woman."

"Indeed, she is," Atrai agreed readily, surprising Hayate once again with that admission. "But I think she relies too much on her prophecies, to really understand what's going on in her organization. And while I place great trust in her prophecies, too, they aren't a replacement for good 'ole military intelligence. We need to be able to act independently in order to get at the growing infestation."

Hayate stopped, causing him to stop as well. "What do you know? What's going on?" She had heard some rumors as well, but they were mostly vague. The church had a few small sects here and there; mostly different denominations like Christianity had on Earth. But there were rumors of ones meeting in secret and planning an overthrow of Mid-Childa and the Bureau. However, Hayate had a hard time believing that was even possible.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell even you," he said sadly, shaking his head. "Just trust that what I am doing is the for the best of the Bureau. If you can convince your... friends to side with me, perhaps I can share some of my intelligence with you."

[Genya and Auris,] Hayate realized instantly. She was well aware of the man's prejudices, but hearing how he pronounced "friends" stills truck a nerve in her. "I can talk to them, but their minds are their own. However, if you work with them, they might be more amenable to what you have to say."

His facial expressions promptly turned dark and almost unreadable, even as he partially turned away from her. "I can't do that. They shouldn't have their positions. In fact, it was you who should have been Bureau Chief of Staff. But you wasted your potential and gave it away to... that _ordinary_ woman."

This time, Hayate didn't hide the steely ice in her voice. "I'll ask you now, not to refer to her or them that way in my presence again."

"Then answer me as to why you waste your potential in this low office?" he demanded, suddenly whirling on her. "Your talents are wasted in Naval Investigations!"

The accusation took her aback, but she recovered quickly enough. "I feel I can do the most good here at the moment. That is all."

"Bah, such a waste," he grumbled, turning away again and taking a step before pausing. "You had talent, potential, just like another I used to know. You could do so much more good, but you hide in your current post. I really thought you wanted to take control in order to move quicker and protect the Bureau; that is why you created RF6, was it not?" He shook his head. "Bah. Our talk is over. When you decide you're ready to do what it takes to protect people, we can have another chat."

Hayate was silent, watching him go as he proceeded down the corridor without her and turned a corner. As much as she wanted to deny it, his words did strike a nerve inside. Forming RF6 was a way for her to get around the bureaucracy, to handle threats before they grew too big. In that light, what he was doing with his Saint Church initiative, wanting to nimbly move in and get at problems quickly, wasn't too different. How could she argue against that?

And how could she answer his accusations about her shirking her potential? She had thought about climbing higher, but she felt that would come with time, when she felt ready. She also knew climbing higher would mire her in that very bureaucracy she sought to avoid. Given time, she felt she could streamline things as she rose in the ranks, but what if she could do more good by climbing higher now? What if he was right, on both counts?

The Lt. Colonel shook her head and sighed. She didn't know the answers to those questions, but something about the Saint Church certainly had him spooked, that much was for certain. So what if he was right about that? Was there a greater danger there than she realized? She remembered trying to convince disbelieving higher-ups about the dangers of the relic incident, so perhaps she couldn't afford to take this threat lightly. One thing was clear: she needed more information.

"Rein, are you there?" she asked, opening up a communication channel.

A holographic screen opened, showing the beaming face of her unison device. "Hi hi! I'm here!"

"Do me a favor, and set up a meeting with Carim," she requested, beginning to move purposefully down the hall, the screen floating along beside her.

"Okay!" Rein answered cheerfully. "What do I tell her this meeting is about?"

Hayate thought for a moment. "Just say that it's something I would like to discuss in private."

x~~*~~x

Jeremiah acted quickly, turning around and grabbing his son who had tripped and fallen in the family's flight from their home. Ignoring the flames growing around them, he scooped up his 6-year-old son with one hand, while his wife carried their 4-year-old daughter. An explosion in the distance provided impetus to his flight.

"Daddy, what's going on?" the young boy complained in a scared tone; obviously, he sensed the danger as well.

"I don't know, but we need to go!" Jeremiah answered curtly, not really understanding himself what was going on. Another explosion, closer this time, punctuated his urgency. A phone call from old man Feris had woken him up, warning him of an attack, before it was cut off and the phone went dead. They lived in a small community almost out in the middle of nowhere, in southern Mid-Childa, though; who would even want to attack them?

The passenger door on their old truck slammed closed, letting him know that his wife, Sherry, had just secured herself and their daughter, and were now waiting on him and their son. Jeremiah wasted no more time, covering the remaining ground to their vehicle with several long strides, ignoring the blistering heat of the wood buildings and trees aflame all around them.

He had just finished fastening his son in the back seat, when something exploded nearby, and an objected landed just behind him with a thud. He quickly glanced back, inhaling sharply at the sight of the smoking, charred human laying there. The repugnant smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils; it was almost too overpowering.

"Honey, we need to go!" his wife called, desperation in her voice, although she was doing her best to control it.

"But, it's Feris!" Jeremiah spouted in disbelief, leaning down to roll the old man over onto his back, growing sick to his stomach at the sight of the blackened and blistered skin.

To his surprise, unfocused eyes moved and focused in on him. "Run..."

"Who?" Jeremiah demanded to know. "Who is attacking us?"

Feris's eyes rolled up into his head and he went unconscious before he could give a reply, but movement from in Jeremiah's peripheral vision refocused the man's gaze toward a wall of flame in the distance. In disbelief, he watched a form emerge from the flame, seemingly completely unharmed; a near-black shadow against the heat. Was she a mage? Or something else?

"You might want to do what he told you," the form casually announced as it strolled toward them, the voice and more visible features identifying it as a woman, a staff in her left hand.

But there was something in her voice that disturbed him. And perhaps it disturbed their daughter, too, because she broke out crying and clutched desperately at her mother in fear.

The figure paused a few meters away, something unregistered passing in her blue eyes. "You're... her mother?"

"Yes!" Sherry replied, her voice wavering as she sought to keep control of herself, hugging her daughter tightly in her lap.

The woman raised her staff and pointed it at Sherry, but she seemed a bit hesitant.

That disturbing feeling in his gut growing ever larger, Jeremiah moved to step in front of his family, shielding them with his body, just in case. "Who are you? What is going on here? Are you responsible for this?"

The blue eyes seemed to flash with something, perhaps anger. "Protecting your family?"

He nodded slowly, trying to figure out if this woman was the cause of the attack, or if there was something else going on. If she was behind it, he wondered if he could distract her with something, to get enough time to jump in the car and speed them all away. But nothing came to mind, except for himself. If he threw himself at her, he could possibly buy enough time for his wife and kids to escape.

"You think offering your life as a sacrifice will protect anyone?" the shadowy female demanded in anger, seemingly reading his mind, and then shifted her outrage to Sherry. "And you... you hooked up your life with the likes of... him? You think he can protect you?" Several long seconds passed, before the staff lowered, the woman's expression unreadable. "I suggest you take his advice and run."

She promptly took to the air, sailing straight up into the night sky. Relieved, Jeremiah wasted no time in leaping into the truck, swiftly starting the engine and pulling out onto the dirt road. He didn't know what was going on, but the safety of his family was his first concern. And with his phone not working, he needed to find some way to contact the Bureau, or at least the local authorities, about what was happening.

"Look, daddy, there's another moon!" Jeremiah's young son wondered aloud from beside him in the middle seat as the truck rumbled along.

His father glanced into the rear-view mirror, noting the new large ball of light in the sky, wondering where it came from. But that momentary distraction proved costly; when his eyes returned to the road, he swerved to avoid some people in the road, fleeing on foot and apparently trying to flag him down. The old truck careened off the road and into the muddy grass, but Jeremiah managed to keep it upright and bring it to a stop after a skid that caused it to make a 180 degree turn. From that angle, the entire family was given a perfect view through the windshield of ball of light in the sky as it exploded downward, consuming the town, and rapidly growing in size.

Instinctively, Jeremiah covered his son with his body moments before the wave of dark pink magic reached them.

x~~*~~x

Nanoha jerked upright in bed, gasping deeply for breath.

Immediately, her body delivered sensations to her brain, notifying her that her nightgown and hair were matted to her body by sweat; even the blanket was partially sticking to her still, but eventually gravity proved to be the greater force and it slipped off her chest. Unconsciously, she hugged her body as the cooler air in the room brushed against her hot and moist skin, causing her to shiver in response. But the chill that went through her body, wasn't entirely from temperature difference alone.

The nightmare had seemed so... _vivid_.

Although she could barely recall any details now as it faded from her mind, she was still left with the unmistakable feeling that she had done something horrible. Part of her felt glad she couldn't remember much, but when she glanced at her hands, for a moment, she could swear she saw them stained red with blood.

Instinctively, she looked to her left to see if she had woken either of her partners, but then realized Fate was still on her mission and Yuuno must have been delayed so late at the library, that he spent the night there. It wasn't too unusual; it was a habit he had developed while single, when he became too backed up with requests. He had tried to get help to deal with them, but there were scant few people available who could really search and pick out information from the massive tomes in the library. It was the main reason why it had been so unused for so long.

Still, the absence of both her husband and wife, left her feeling forsaken. She desperately felt like she needed a comforting presence, but even Vivio was out tonight, spending the night with her friends, Rio and Corona at the former's house.

"I'm alone..." came the unbidden whisper from her lips.

Even as she spoke the thought, she quickly dismissed it and shook her head. Neither Yuuno nor Fate had deliberately left her alone; it was just the terrifying remnants of the nightmare still forcing itself through her mind. Her stomach was decidedly feeling unpleasant about the whole thing, however, so she decided to get up and head to the bathroom to get some nausea medicine, and a towel to wipe the sweat off her body.

Opening the medicine cabinet, she was a little distressed to see her hand was still shaky; deep and calming breaths did little to quell it. But gradually, she got herself under control and retrieved a few pills from behind the mirror cabinet. These were leftover since her early pregnancy days, to help deal with morning sickness. They were also something that she thought she'd never need again.

She quickly downed the pills with some water, and then found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was particularly mussed up and matted in places due to sweat, but that wasn't what bothered her. For a moment, she almost thought she saw someone else looking back at her.

Someone with her face, but that wasn't _her._

"Just a bad dream," she told herself, shaking her head to clear her mind, which seemed to help calm her body. Or maybe it was the nausea pills beginning to work. "Wasn't real. Honestly, Nanoha, since when have you let a little bad dream shake you so much? Just need to get back to sleep."

And as she laid back down and pulled the covers over her body, she had almost dispelled most of the remnants of the nightmare, trying to turn her mind towards happier thoughts.

x~~*~~x

"What the hell happened here?" Nove demanded to know, speaking aloud the thought on everyone else's mind, but in her own brash manner.

For once, Subaru shared Nove's vulgar attitude. Dieci, Wendi, and Cinque also came up on either side of the pair, while the rest of the rescue unit spread out around them. But there seemed to be little they could do now; there seemed to be no one left to save.

They had received the call to action 45 minutes ago, and had take nearly 30 minutes to assemble and get here. The report only stated that some heavy magic was in use, and also signs of an attack in progress. But there was nothing here now.

"Are we at the right place?" Wendi questioned, unable to take her eyes away.

Subaru double-checked her coordinates, then looked back up solemnly. "Yes. This is... was the town of Cantor. And now it's..." She couldn't bring herself to finish.

"And now it's just a damn crater," Nove finished for her as the quintet surveyed the scene.

"A big one," Dieci agreed., her binocular eyes scanning the entire area. "I'm not getting any life readings, either..."

Fires flickered in various spots around the large rim, and from various spots within. But the town of Cantor itself, population 436... was gone.

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

Although I prefer the spelling of Shante, it looks like the official spelling of her name might be Chantez, since in the naming convention of the series, she might be named after the Mazda Chantez.


	3. Insecure

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 3: Insecure**

Xx~~*~~xX

"Vivio, is something wrong?" Corona questioned. Perhaps because she had known Vivio longer, but between Vivio's two friends, Corona had been better at reading Vivio's expressions and moods. "You haven't been as cheerful all night."

The three, now bundled up in their futons and facing each other in Rio's fancy bedroom, were technically supposed to be asleep. But none of them had felt the need to sleep just yet, and Corona had noticed something behind Vivio's normally bright eyes for awhile, so she finally decided to ask about it.

Vivio shook her head, and was about to deny anything was wrong, but Chantez's words came back to her again, and she bit her lip. "Do you guys think... I'm not considering your feelings?"

"Where did you get that stupid notion?" Rio almost demanded to know, her expression bewildered. "You're one of the nicest people I know!"

"I have to agree with Rio," Corona added, only concern evident on her face. "Where did this come from?"

Hesitating for a moment, but only seeing acceptance in her two friends' expressions, she decided to finally spill the beans about what happened earlier that day. When she was done, she was surprised to see Rio so angry.

"I'll pound that Quinn in a meat sandwich!" she declared with a clenched fist. "That will teach her to mess with my friends!"

Ever the non-confrontational diplomat, Corona placed a hand on the purple-haired girl's arm. "You can't do that, Rio! Didn't you listen to Vivio? We want to avoid fighting if we can!"

"Hmph, fine," Rio stated, clearly not happy, but only somewhat mollified. "For now. But I still don't see why you'd let something like that bother you, especially coming from someone like _that_."

Vivio shook her head. "It's not Quinn so much, but also Chantez, and well..."

Corona's visage softened in understanding; Vivio's status was well-known among the church's members, and Chantez had been one of the more... fervent worshippers. "The whole Saint Kaiser thing still bothers you, doesn't it?"

"I thought I'd mostly gotten over it, but I suppose it still kinda does," Vivio realized aloud, surprising herself with the admission. "I mean, I know it's mostly a matter of affection when Otto or Deed calls me 'your majesty.' But I'm also supposed to have this role, to be someone for the people of the church. I know they don't put any pressure on me, but a lot of people look up to me. I've been happy to do it, since they've been so kind to me, but... I don't know if that's who I am."

"I don't know about that, but we can ask her," Rio suggested, in a moment of thoughtfulness. "I've never thought of you as anyone more than who you are. Maybe that's why you like to try so many different things, though? You're tryin' to find something."

Vivio stared at her. "I hadn't really thought of it that way, but I guess you're right." She sighed. "I guess I wonder what I'm supposed to do with my life. This whole Kaiser thing makes me feel..." She paused, struggling to come up with a word. "Trapped, I guess." She shrugged helplessly.

"You don't have to be the Kaiser for the church, do you?" Corona asked, although it sounded more like a suggestion.

"Well, Otto and Deed have never said it outright, but I don't want to let anyone down, either," the young confused girl confessed. "And I still feel a bit bad because Otto left.

Rio frowned... and then reached out and slapped Vivio.

"Rio!" Corona gasped, worried.

Vivio held a hand to her burning cheek, staring at her friend, eyes wavering. "Rio..."

"You're Vivo Takamachi, not a Saint or a Kaiser or anything else!" Rio told her strongly. "When you and Corona rescued me from kidnappers, did you do it because you were the Kaiser? Or because you wanted to?"

Vivio shook her head. "No, because I..."

_"Because I'm a boy, and boys are better at being a hero!"_ Her fist clenched; did she even take that action because of someone else? Rio rolled over onto her back, pulling her sleeping bag up to her neck. "I don't know much about this Kaiser stuff, but you should do stuff because it's what you want to do. Not because of anyone else. But that's just what I think. Good night." Corona reached out a hand to touch Vivio's shoulder. "Vivio..." The other girl gave a melancholic smile. "It's okay, Corona. It's my fault. I was just worrying too much. Maybe I have been ignoring other people's feelings, or maybe I'm not not finding what it is I should do. But Rio's right; that's something I have to find out for myself." "Now you're getting' it!" Rio said, eyes closed but smiling. "Thank you, Rio," Vivio answered, pulling up her own sleeping bag. The two other girls could practically hear the blush in Rio's voice. "Yeah, well, it's no big deal." Corona and Vivio glanced at each other, and then broke out into giggles, with Rio joining in after a moment. They must have finally made too much noise, because the voice of Rio's mom came across from the other side of the door, telling them to go to sleep. As Vivio let her eyes closed, she still felt a confusion inside, but she felt she just might just be on the cusp of finding a path just for her.

x~~*~~x

Wendi waved at the newcomer. "Sis, over here!"

Ginga quickened her pace to come up alongside her adopted sibling, and although she was smiling warmly, the situation on the ground here hardly called for it. "I got here as fast as I could. I heard you two found something."

The other woman nodded. "Subaru, Nove, Cinque and I had been searching all night, but there isn't much left to get clues from. But then Dieci's eyes that managed to find the nearly buried wreckage among the rubble, and what was hidden underneath."

"They were buried?" Ginga inquired as the pair approached the temporary medical shelter, although there apparently wasn't much need for it. At least, until now.

"The medics are stabilizing them now, after the emergency surgery," Wendi stated, pausing at the entrance, not wanting to get in the way of the hustle and bustle inside. "A boy and girl, approximate ages 6 and 4. They've been non-responsive since we found them inside that wrecked truck." She shook her head. "Poor kids. Being buried alive with their parents, who didn't survive. I wonder if they even know that their mother and father must have protected their children with their own bodies."

Ginga carefully controlled her emotions, trying to keep her expression professional as she gazed at the two children in separate beds, wrapped in bandages, unmoving and staring up at the ceiling. "I read your initial report on the way over. I'd have to agree on your assessment that the truck was flung several hundred meters and then buried by dirt and debris. It's amazing that they survived at all."

Wendi folded her hands across her chest. "Well, you'll have to wait if you want to talk to them. They're still in shock, and there is no telling when they'll come out of it. They are being prepped for transport back to Clanagan, though, so you can go with them. I know Subaru said she wanted to head back with the kids and you, and help with the investigation."

"I think I will, but we still have some time, so I'd like to look around first," Ginga told her, making some notes into a data pad. "Can you show me where you found them, and then the epicenter of the blast?"

Wendi nodded., stepping away from the medical shelter entrance and bringing out her device. "Sure thing. Waverider, please." As she leapt into the air, her jewel device changed instantly into her air board, forming a platform that she easily landed on.

Ginga accepted the hand up from her sister, hanging on as the surfboard cyborg took to the air, inhaling sharply at the devastation below. "I saw the pictures, but seeing it in person like this..."

"I know what you mean, which is why I wanted you to see this," Wendi agreed grimly. "Cinque has expanded the investigation to other nearby towns, trying to see if anyone else saw anything, and she told me to tell you that she'd like to help with this case. I'd almost join, but I'm no good with things like research and stuff." She held up a clenched fist. "Just tell me when you find the bastard that did this."

Ginga didn't reply, the sight of the huge crater where a town once stood, preventing her from answering one way or the other.

x~~*~~x

"Thank you very much!" Hayate acknowledged with a warm expression to her young escort.

The young female nun holding the door open for her, beamed delightfully. "You're welcome!"

As the door closed, Hayate turned to see Carim looking amused, from behind her desk. "I see you've met Chantez Arpinion. What do you think of her?"

"I must say, I was expecting Schach to meet me and show me in, but that young girl reminds me of Schach in some ways," Hayate mused as she took her seat opposite Carim.

"Your instincts are good; Chantez is actually Schach's pupil," Carim confirmed with a nod. "Schach is out on assignment right now, so Chantez is filling in."

"Pupil?" Hayate questioned, frowning slightly. "I don't recall Schach ever mentioning her. When did this start?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I've kept Schach fairly busy lately, so I'm not surprised she didn't mention it," Carim replied thoughtfully, then shook her head. "Anyway, what brings you by today? The request I got from Rein was rather vague."

Instead of answering right away, Hayate turned serious and kept her gaze steady. Carim took the hint and hit a button under her desk, which closed the curtains and turned on internal lighting.

"There, the room is magically sealed," Carim informed her friend, the undertones of her voice indicating she understood Hayate's unspoken tone. "No one can hear or eavesdrop. So what is so important?"

Hayate paused once more, before replying. "How much are you keeping track about the Church's various... denominations?"

"Trying to be more politically correct?" Carim mused out loud, the edges of her lips turning slightly upwards. "It's okay, you can say what you mean to me. There are sects out there that have branched off a bit too much from the main church. We only call them denominations in public." She leaned back in her chair. "And to answer your question, we do try to keep tabs on each one, though some are more secretive than others. But you wouldn't come all this way, and want this intimate of a conversation, just to chat lightly about those. What have you heard?"

Hayate remembered asking the same question the Atrai, though she planned to actually answer Carim, and thus had tried to carefully construct her words prior to this. "We've heard rumors of some of those sects planning something. We're not entirely sure what, and to be honest, I never held those rumors very high in regard, but..."

"Atrai sent you, didn't he?" Carim said, although her tone indicated it was more of a rhetorical question.

"Not really," Hayate quickly denied. "Although I admit he seems to have his suspicions. So I wanted to ask you, personally, if you think anything is going on we need to be aware of. I know that, because of the Church's autonomy, the Bureau lets you handle your own internal matters. But I also know how things can spiral out of control if we don't speak the truth to each other."

Carim studied Hayate for a short while, and then sighed. "As I said, we do keep tabs on other sects, but freedom of religion is also very important to us. Despite what certain cults or sects or denominations may say, we believe they have the right to say it, and to worship how they choose. At this time, we don't have any concrete evidence of anyone planning anything. And you can tell General Atrai that we will remain autonomous; we won't subject ourselves to direct Bureau control. This is the only way we can guarantee we retain those freedoms."

"Carim, the Bureau isn't your enemy, nor is it a bad thing to be a part of it," Hayate tried to impress upon Carim, and then spread her arms wide. "And neither am I. Despite our past disagreements, you know who I am. You can tell me."

"Even if I do 100% believe you, and I do, neither one of us will be around forever," Carim countered. "Things can change. As I said, the only way I can guarantee the freedoms for the Church and it's people, is to keep it autonomous, and for us to handle our problems on our own. I know the Bureau isn't entirely happy with an independent country on their home planet that they don't directly control, but we've been as accommodating as we can."

Silence descended as the two intently studied each other, sending identical gazes of affirmation and confidence, willing the other to bend. But in the end, neither did, and they both instantly sighed and smiled, the charged air seemingly evaporating.

"As I recall, we've had many such disagreements before," Hayate mused, leaning back in her chair.

"And we probably always will," Carim agreed, chuckling, and then her expression moved back to being serious. "Please believe, that if something comes up, I will tell you. We've worked together before."

Hayate nodded. "The JS incident, with the relics, I remember. But that was you helping us with a larger Bureau issue. I just want to do the same: have the Bureau help the Church with a larger issue. If you can tell us anything... And even your own prophecy signals that something is coming, just like with the JS incident."

Carim closed her eyes and recited her own prophecy, made earlier that year. "_A dragon's struggle against the world serpent shall signal the rise of Belka. After a time of peace, believers shall invoke the false devil, which shall descend up the ancient country and tear it asunder. Friend shall be put against __ally. The fourth shall be born, and darkness will cover the land. Destiny rests upon three children._"

Hayate waited until Carim opened her eyes and continued with the conversation. "Very well, because you're a friend, and I still value you that friendship, I will tell you this much: we have heard rumors, too, of cults that want to overthrow the Bureau. It's not exactly a new feeling, since as long as the Bureau and the Church has existed, there have been those who have called for its destruction."

"But something has changed recently," Hayate stated, reading between the lines.

"As I said, nothing concrete, but there have been members of a few different sects that have signaled that the end times are near," Carim answered carefully. "It is a bit unusual for several different ones to make that same call at the same time. And even more rumors that faith will be rewarded in the coming days, as a new order supplants the old."

Hayate raised an eyebrow. "That's all?"

"That's all I can say for certain, for now," Carim confirmed, but Hayate got the impression there was still a little she was holding back. "Please believe that I will tell you more when it is called for."

"Does this have something to do with sending Verossa to Earth?" Hayate questioned, scrutinizing the Church leader's face for clues.

Carim's expression indicated she was a bit surprised that Hayate knew, but she quickly returned to keeping her face neutral. "He is tracing a lead and if he finds what he's looking for, then I might have some concrete evidence for you. But I don't want to jump the gun, and please don't tell anyone else, not even your family, about any of this. Secrecy is of the utmost concern. If word gets out that the Saint Church can't handle it's own affairs, Atrai's initiative will gain weight."

Hayate finally relaxed into a smile. "Whatever our differences may be, you are still my friend, Carim. That won't change. I thank you for what you have told me, and if I discover anything, too, I will let you know. In the meantime, I'll see if I can reign in Atrai. Auris and I have a feeling he is hiding something, too."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Carim answered with genuine admiration and esteem. Her tone mirrored Hayate's thoughts that, despite their differences, both women were still committed to finding common ground and understanding within their two roles.

x~~*~~x

"Mama, I'm back!" Vivio stated upon entering the house, pausing in the doorway to wave goodbye to the Wesley family car as it pulled away.

"Did you have a good time?" Nanoha asked, coming into the entry way while wiping her hands with a towel. "Remember to take your shoes off."

Vivio lightly blushed in embarrassment, once she realized she had forgotten to do so. "Sorry!"

Nanoha bit her lip as she studied her adopted daughter. There was something a bit different about her, as if she was genuinely happy, or there was a new confident air about her. Either way, Nanoha felt the time had come, and leaned down to hug her daughter.

"Nanona-mama has something for you," she said with a smile, taking her daughter by the hand and leading her into the living room.

Vivio immediately glimpsed the white box on the coffee table. "What is a this? A present?"

Nanoha nodded, releasing her daughter's hand. "You've done well with your studies, and worked hard on the basics. Since you're in fourth grade now, I though you deserved this! I wanted to wait until Fate-mama was back, but it looks like she'll be delayed longer."

Vivio wasted no time in popping the small box open, her brow furrowing in confusion. "A bunny?" she gushed in awe, then jumped back, startled when it took off and began flying around.

"The bunny is just the outside," Nanoha explained, amused, to her daughter that was now suddenly behind her. "There is a regular device inside, that was custom made for you by Mariel. It has no name yet, so you'll have to give it one."

"My own device?" Vivio nearly exclaimed, curiously approaching the floating bunny that waved at her. After a moment of going through names, she settled on two. "I'll call the bunny 'Kris' and the official name of the device..." She paused, looking up at her mama and the red jewel floating nearby, smiled happily, and spoke a name that filled Nanoha's heart with warmth: "Sacred Heart."

x~~*~~x

"[This is T,]" the invisible woman sent telepathically, using the earlier established code. "[O4 has joined the party.]"

"[Roger, T,]" came the reply from after a moment. "[O5 looks to be arriving now as well.]"

Teana kept still, carefully controlling the magic that rendered her invisible both to the naked eye, and to all possible sensors. Optic Hide was one of the few spells that she was fairly good at, and she had made sure to refine and improve it over the years. And now, it let her observe the arrival of a supposed cargo ship that arrived at the port a short time ago, which was immediately towed to this hanger at the edge of the port. It was a nondescript vessel, seemingly making a normal cargo run and thus ordinarily would probably have not drawn any notice]. But things had changed recently.

Teana couldn't shake Fate's assertion that more was going on here, and a little checking confirmed her suspicions; the Bureau was getting anonymous tips to trouble spots all over the known universe, and even outside Bureau space. Many Enforcers and Agents were striking at suspected hotspots and bringing down criminals and organizations.

[But why?] Teana allowed herself to form the most important question in her mind. [And now? Who would be in a position to know all this, and why would they tell us?]

Part of her hoped this latest tip, that several high-ranking members of the Orion crime syndicate was meeting on this world, might provide some answer. The Bureau did have suspects that might be behind it – mainly businessmen – but it had yet to be able to put together any solid evidence. Just circumstantial hints behind smuggling and black market operations. The syndicate was very, very good about keeping their own fingers clean, and letting patsies take the fall.

[If there was one member of the group that wanted to eliminate his rivals, this might make sense,] she reasoned. [Anyone on our suspect list that doesn't attend, would thus be a prime candidate for our anonymous tipster friend.]

She bit her lip as Cross Mirage zoomed in and expanded upon O4, the codename for the lead suspect on the ship. Her brow furrowed as her mind raced to identify him, but Cross Mirage was faster, listing his name as one Michi Baleno, the owner of a large, private company that manufactured various pharmaceuticals. There was more information, but he was now entering a black, nondescript vehicle with his entourage.

Teana immediately knew she needed to follow that car, or at least tag it with a tracker beacon, but how? It would be headed to the meeting site, and despite them knowing that the Orion members would arrive at this starport, they still had no idea where the actual meeting would take place. Such things were usually determined only at the last moment, in order to prevent anyone, like the Bureau, from setting up spying devices or spells beforehand. And if Fate was unable to track her target without them spotting her, this opportunity would slip through their fingers. Despite whatever motives the anonymous tipster had, this was a prime chance to take down the upper echelons of the Orion syndicate.

Thinking quickly, Teana outlined the path the car would follow through the warehouse, and then she leapt from her spot to a catwalk, landing easily enough. The sound of machinery beginning to unload the cargo ship was enough to hide any noise she made. Concentrating, she judged the distance and raised her gun, firing an invisible grappling line above the large hanger warehouse door, then swung down through the air to land softly on top of the car as it exited. Despite the magic strain to completely erase her presence, she held her breath, expecting at any moment for the car to stop or someone to shout a warning.

However, after several moments, when the car failed to stop or slow down, she allowed herself several panting breaths and laid down flat on top of the car as it sped up. The magnetic seals in her gloves and boots activated then, allowing her to easily hold.

She would have preferred to follow from the air, but despite her best efforts, she still couldn't actually fly. She could float, slowing her falling speed dramatically, or balance atop the platform created by her magic circle, but that was it. However, between her grappling lines and gun thrusters, it was good enough to pass the aerial test for Enforcer status. And being able to lighten her body enough to float, was sufficient to land on top of the car without making any noise.

"[T here, escorting O4 to party,]" she finally sent, once she felt secure enough.

There was a long pause, before Fate finally responded. "[Acknowledged. My date is escorting me, too.]" There was another pause before she ended with: "[Careful, T.]"

Teana had to suppress a laugh. [Careful, indeed.] Enforcer Agent Sephia was on standby with the regular enforcer squads, but Teana had to wonder... how exactly was Fate following her own target?

x~~*~~x

"Wow, very nice!" the young woman gushed once she was inside the back seat of the car, sliding her hands admiringly across the soft velvet of the seats. "You must be very rich and famous; Supool Lagomorph seat covering is very expensive, especially considering their endangered nature."

Galiboni puffed on his cigar and grinned, eyes tracing up and down the girl's feminine curves, barely hidden by the slick yellow and black dress; he was looking forward to exploring those curves later, after his meeting. "Let's just say, I have connections."

She shyly smiled as he slid his arm over her shoulders and patted her thigh, and she playfully swatted his hand. "Now now, you naughty boy." Then her expression turned a bit coy. "But if you're good, there might be time for that later..."

"Oh, if you only knew how naughty I was," he told her with a glint in his eye as the car took off. If she was as good in bed later, he'd definitely consider tipping that escort service. Hell, perhaps he'd even buy it outright.

There were many fine things in life, but there was nothing Galiboni liked more than women; especially ones were just refined enough to know about those fine things, and smart enough to keep their mouth shut. In that light, this Felicia fit the bill to a T. It might have been the long, flowing golden-hair, or the way her eyes seem to speak volumes about her inner depths, but he was instinctively drawn to her, when given his choice of women at the brothel. It was one he had visited a few times before, and thus could trust the owners to give him what he wanted.

"We have just notified about the location," his driver from up front informed him as the vehicle hummed along the road. "We'll be there in 15 minutes."

Galiboni sighed, and contented himself with her body next to his. [Business before pleasure,] he reminded himself regretfully. He tipped his hat, then blew out a ring of smoke. "I'll look forward to later, then."

Her deep, red eyes twinkled mysteriously. "As will I..."

x~~*~~x

"_What! ?" Nanoha nearly shrieked._

"_I said I'm going to be at the library all this week and next," Yuuno repeated with a gruff and annoyed voice from the view screen. "I have a new intern to train."_

"_So you're just going to leave us here AGAIN!" Nanoha accused, her voice raising. "I THOUGHT you were coming home tonight. I had a great dinner prepared, and now it's going to go to waste!"_

_Yuuno shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "Not my problem."_

"_'This' problem belongs to both of us!" Nanoha shot back, gesturing to her expanded belly while glaring at him. However, he continued to look at something off screen, an odd look in his eye, and then it hit her. "Who is she?"_

"_Who?_

_Her eyes narrowed. "The intern you're cheating on me with!"_

_He finally looked at her, and frowned. "It's none of your business. And I don't need this. Goodbye."_

_The holographic screen disappeared, causing Nanoha to let out an angry growl and stomp her foot. She struggled to even remember why she was even with him, with no success._

_A new screen popped up. "Hello there, Na...oh, let me guess... you just got done talking with Scyra?"_

"_Fate-_chan_," Nanoha grumbled, putting a darker emphasis on the honorific. "If you've come to torment me, I'd request that you attempt it in person."_

_The golden-haired girl grinned, showing teeth. "Oh, nothing would give me greater pleasure. But I warned you about him. All men are like that. I told you that having his child wouldn't do anything to keep him with you."_

_A slipper flew through the holographic screen, barely phasing the image. "I don't need that from someone whoring it up all over the universe. How many beings, human or otherwise, have you screwed since we last chatted?"_

_Fate 'tsk'ed while wagging her finger. "Now now. Just because you can't have as much fun as me... although I should thank you for how you 'saved' me all those years ago, and then stood by while that woman adopted me. It opened my eyes to the reality of humanity."_

_Nanoha almost winced at both the memory, and the words that were laced with venom. "I'm not responsible for how you screwed up your own life. I tried to help you and you slapped my hand away." She shook her head. "Anyway, spit it out; what do you want? I somehow doubt this is a social call."_

_Fate's Cheshire smile hinted at the enjoyment lurking just beyond that crazed mask expression. "Well, I haven't just been screwing around out here... I've been making certain... friends, shall we say. And I've been keeping tabs on you. I think you might be interested. We could use someone with your power, and I'm sure you'd like to be rid of that thing within you."_

_Shocked, Nanoha glanced down and rubbed the growing bump on her belly, suddenly feeling a mix of warmth and revulsion. She didn't know which it was, until she raised her head again, barely cognizant of the eager grin spreading across her face._

"_When?"_

x~~*~~x

Nanoha gasped as she opened her eyes, hands instinctively flying to her stomach, confirming that her child was still there. Letting loose a sigh of relief, she turned to her side and pulled the covers tighter over her body, noting that this was the second nightmare in a row she'd had.

[It wasn't like that!] she desperately told herself, still unable to shake the feeling that the dream was real. [I don't hate Fate nor Yuuno, so why...] She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to dispel the utter disgust she had felt in the dream.

What in the world was going on?

She remembered when Vivio used to have nightmares, and Nanoha had awoken her adopted daughter from them more than once. Despite her telling Vivio that they weren't real, the child still couldn't shake the feeling for a long time. It was the biggest reason she had continued sleeping with her mamas and papa for a long time. She didn't do it as much as she used to now, but Nanoha was perhaps realizing that she longed for that small body next to hers, wanting it more than Vivio did. With her relationship to Fate and Yuuno now, her bed was rarely empty, except for times like last night and tonight.

Were her insecurities, that she didn't even think she had, coming to the surface and being expressed in a dream? Was she beginning to feel abandoned?

[I've spent the night alone many times, though,] she reasoned. [And Fate and Yuuno aren't like that... So why?]

With no answer coming to her, she slowly allowed herself to drift off to sleep once more, trying to ignore that small, unpleasant feeling that had formed in the pit of her stomach.

x~~*~~x

Teana very close to giving up. Even though Optic Hide was no longer very magic draining, she had been keeping it up for quite a long time, and thus had begun to run low on magic. Once she did, she'd become visible and would mostly likely be spotted.

Just enough luck was on her side, however, when the long car pulled into the darkened parking garage of a disused office building. She expected the people inside to head for the elevators, but the small group headed over to a corner, where she could now see several other cars parked.

She quickly leapt off the car and landed behind a concrete barrier, finally releasing the Optic Hide spell to conserve what little magic she had left and to let it recover. Hopefully, she would be sufficiently recharged when action was called for. Her hands instinctively brushed over the cartridges in her coat pockets, the confirmation boosting her confidence.

Moving slowly, she crawled along the ground, still behind the barrier, trying to get closer in order to hear better. Once close enough, she had Cross Mirage amplify the sound, piping it into her ear piece communicator. She also had her device enhance a reflection of the meeting from a mirror hanging nearby; it was one of those that allowed cars to see around a corner in the confined spaces of a parking garage.

"We all here?" one of the men said.

"Still waiting for... ah, here he is," another answered gruffly. "You're late, as usual, Galiboni."

"Stow it," Galiboni replied gruffly in an annoyed voice. "Let's get this going."

"I think we all know why we're here," the first one stated. "Business has been bad lately. Profits are down in most sectors. Especially yours."

"It's the Bureau," Galiboni argued back with disgust. "They've been coming down extra hard on my territory, which has made most of my suppliers scarce. _Someone_ was supposed to be handling that."

"There is only so much I can do," came another gruff male voice from the far side, and Teana had to shift a bit to see who it was. Unfortunately, his face and body was obscured by shadow, and Cross Mirage could only passively amplify the ambient light so much; she didn't want to risk active spells just yet."I've passed along all information I have been given."

Teana froze. [Passed along information? Is someone leaking information from the Bureau?] The implication was there, but conversation had been vague so far. She needed more, but unfortunately, she wasn't going to get it.

Someone – whose gait appeared to mark them as female – began walking around the outer edge of the gathered vehicles. Teana wondered what she was up to... until the woman appeared to stare directly at the round mirror.

"We have a spy!" came the call, a split second before the concrete barrier exploded.

Only her quick thinking and reaction speed saved her from being splattered, as Teana came up from her dive and tumble, pointing her gun and prepping a Crossfire spell. "I'm Enforcer Teana Lanster from the Time-Space Administration Bureau. I am hereby ordering all of you to stand down and come in for question-"

She didn't get the chance to finish.

The woman who had initially fired on her, brought out a second gun device and began peppering Teana's location with magical bullet fire. The Enforcer Agent was already in motion, however, releasing her own spell of a half-dozen guided magical shots. But the woman easily shot them down with a spray of magical bullet fire, and then the two dueling, dodging and diving while trading attack spells. However, Teana's mysterious opponent had a considerably higher rate of fire, as if she was firing a pair of machine guns. So far, Teana had managed to dodge, but her biggest worry was that the other participants in the group were getting away.

"[Fate, Shari, Sephia, if you can hear me, they are escaping!]" she sent telepathically, as the regular communication lines had been jammed immediately after the warning had been shouted.

And then the barrage stopped for a moment, as Teana rested behind a thick pillar. "Lanster, did you say? How interesting."

Teana's brow furrowed. "What-"

Once more she was cut off as the pillar exploded. Teana dove and tumbled as her auto-barrier absorbed and deflected the concrete shards, firing stun shots into the smoke cloud, but when she heard the quiet 'click' behind her, she knew she'd miscalculated. But it was the words spoken next, that really made her blood run cold.

She could hear the grin in the voice. "So, it looks like this will be the second Lanster I take down."

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

One of the lines in StrikerS that struck me, was when Hayate talked about how she had disagreements with Carim. But that was never elaborated on, and I found an opening in this fic to expand upon the concept. I won't say too much more, other than this isn't the last of it, as it will come up again.

I know that Vivio's name for the bunny looks like it is supposed to be Chris, but I like the name Kris better. So, I'm exercising Author's prerogative to use that name. Similar to how I use Raging Heart instead of Raising Heart. =)


	4. Suspicious Minds

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 4: Suspicious Minds**

Xx~~*~~xX

Teana stared at the other woman, not believing her own ears. "What did you say?"

Her opponent answered with a barrage of magical bullets that forced Teana on the move, concrete exploding all around her, filling the air with smoke and debris. Teana dove through a narrow crack in the ground, dropping to a lower level to temporarily escape her assailant, certain that she had heard the words clearly.

"_So, it looks like this will be the second Lanster I take down."_

She hadn't heard wrong, and so the implications were clear. Was this the mage that had killed her brother? Or was it merely someone who knew about her past and was trying to goad her? It was impossible, wasn't it? After all this time, on pure chance, to run into the criminal that had taken Tiida's life? Either way, it did little for her mood.

"Cross Mirage, prepare Tracking Shot," she commanded, while working up a volley of Crossfire bullets. If she could just land that spell, she could follow her mysterious adversary later.

As she suspected, her opponent leapt down after the Enforcer Agent. But what she didn't expect, was the large barrage of nearly four dozen magical bullets the woman came down with. They all roared at her in the next instant, forcing Teana to release her own spell in response. They were just barely enough Crossfire bullets to carve out a small space for her to avoid the other woman's shots, but she had to quickly fire a few more while diving for cover, including her tracking shot. She cursed inwardly at being forced to use it prematurely, hoping it had connected at least.

But the big question in her mind was; how the hell did she deal with that extremely high rate of fire? She was used to shooting down an opponent's shots, but nowhere near this volume! And there was still one other thing bothering her.

"Who are you?" she demanded to know while reloading cartridges.

The answer she got, was not quite what she expected. "If you're interested, perhaps we can meet again on Mid-Childa... if you survive, that is!"

Before she could even ponder that, her furtive opponent changed tactics and poured fire into the ceiling, sending debris crashing down. Teana sprinted away from it, but quickly realized her attacked was using her second gun to bring down the ceiling in that direction as well... and she was walking both volleys together, trapping Teana in the middle.

As the ground gave way beneath her, and the ceiling came down from above, Teana threw all her magic into a barrier, hoping it would be enough.

x~~*~~x

"DRIVE!" Galiboni ordered as he practically leapt back into the car, and then grew angry when his driver made no move. "I said, DRIVE, NOW!"

"I'm afraid he is currently in no condition to go anywhere," Galiboni's high-class escort explained with a smile next to him in the back seat while holding up a single finger.

Galiboni stared at the small ball of yellow magic, crackling with electricity, floating above the finger, comprehension finally dawning on him. "You're a mage!"

"Enforcer Fate Takamachi, and you're under arrest," she told him, smile disappearing, promptly hitting him with the bolt of magical electricity which rendered him unconscious.

Fate set several binds on him just in case, her sexy dress morphing into her barrier jacket as she slid out of the car and into the chaos of the parking garage. Dust from the debris of destroyed concrete filled the immediate vicinity, obscuring the view. And with the jamming still in effect, Fate was unable to hear what was going on. She may as well be blind and deaf.

"[Sephia, this is Fate; if you can hear me, move in!]" she sent telepathically, trying anyway while looking for another target to apprehend.

"[Roger, we are surrounding the building now,]" came the immediate response, much to Fate's relief. At least telepathic communication still worked.

Out loud, she amplified her voice with magic and gave the rote command, "This is Enforcer Fate S.H. Takamachi of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. All individuals herein are ordered to cease and desist all activity immediately!"

She obviously didn't expect her order to be followed – criminals rarely surrendered to them outright - but protocol demanded it. Explosions and squealing tires echoed throughout the garage, signaling that combat was still in progress and the suspects were fleeing. Fate sprinted towards the shadowy silhouette of an automobile moving quickly through the haze, sending a wave of special Photon Lancer bolts towards it. The vehicle promptly disappeared into the smoke, but she was confident her shots had connected and thus she knew the car's engine should now be dead. That particular spell was designed to overload a car's electrical system and fry the circuitry within.

However, before she could even follow up on that, several thin arrow-like bolts came bursting out of the clouds in a spread shot, too fast for her to dodge them all or even put up a shield. She instinctively lifted her armored left hand to shield her face while tossing her body to the side, grimacing in pain as one of the arrows lodged itself in her forearm. She grit her teeth in surprise as all feeling promptly left her arm, leaving it dangling limply at her side. The arrow of magical light promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke, and left no visible wound, but it had done its damage; her arm was useless.

[Numbing shot!] she instinctively realized, leaping sideways upon touching down. [And it pierced my gauntlet!] One thing was immediately clear: she was up against a highly-skilled mage. Not only had this person pierced her barrier jacket defenses, but had managed to track and shoot her through the smoke field.

Undeterred, she continued her sideways movement in an attempt to throw off her unknown opponent's aim, but another wave of speeding magical arrows somehow came straight towards her with uncanny accuracy. She dove in an attempt to dodge them, but another one managed to catch her right foot, and she immediately lost all feeling in it; exactly like what had just happened to her arm.

But her greater concern was how he was able to track her through the chaos, even Bardiche was unable to obtain locks on individuals; there was some sort of jamming chaff in the air, reflecting all search magic and creating too many ghost signals. So how was her opponent doing it? Fortunately, Bardiche had created a map of the area before the jamming started, and the direction off the shots indicated he or she had been heading towards a stairwell.

The garage shook with a massive explosion, causing Fate to stumble into a concrete pillar to regain her balance, but before she could resume her chase, a voice sounded in her head.

"[Sorry...]" came Teana's strained voice in her head, as if she was under some great pressure. "[Could use some help...]"

"[Teana?]" Fate replied, concerned. "[What happened?]"

There was a bit of a dark chuckle. "[Someone... brought the house down... on me. Put up a barrier, but can't hold it... much longer.]"

Fate shot one glance toward the stairwell in frustration, then made a quick decision, flying towards the direction of the previous explosion while sending a telepathic message to Sephia.

x~~*~~x

Enforcer Sephia Cheville directed the squad to cover various access points, growing concerned as part of the building collapsed. She had been in the midst of entering herself, when she received Fate's message.

"[Suspect fleeing through east stairway, please intercept. Armed with numbing magic fired via arrow-like shots.]"

Unable to spare anyone due to the two enforcer squads they had access to, she decided to take up this particular chase herself, notifying the rest of the squad. While changing her device into its long, slender katana form, she quickly reached the bottom of the stairwell and flew straight up. It didn't take her long to find the suspect, who promptly fired at her. With long practiced ease, she deflected each shot with a spin of her blade, coming to a stop in mid-air.

Braced on the stairwell, a man with a bow had several magical arrows prepped and ready, and aimed in her direction. She considered the implications and situation carefully... and then Sephia lowered her sword.

"You're lucky," she told him.

He smiled slightly and nodded, lowering his own weapon. "I had a feeling you were nearby."

She gestured with her head. "Go, quickly; you aren't being pursued at the moment."

"My thanks," he told her, readying a teleport spell. Before he vanished, he added solemnly, "For the light."

"For the light," she repeated back softly, as the bow-wielding Baleno disappeared.

x~~*~~x

"...recovery was stalled due to Bureau forces arriving a bit quicker than expected, but even so, we barely even hit 10% of our goal," Lance was saying from Dagger's viewscreen. Both were wearing their masks, as per custom. While each was aware of the identity of the other, all actions were taken in the name of utmost secrecy. "Your new pet went a little overboard with that attack. If we want to stay on schedule, you will need to exert better control over your tool."

Dagger waved his hand dismissively. "It was a test, more than anything. We still have plenty of time, and everything is well in hand."

Lance studied him for a moment, but if he was hiding something, she couldn't see it. "You should take better care. All of our butts on are the line here. And I am the one with the army, lest you forget."

"I am well aware of that," he told her, meeting her eyes through the small slits in the masks. "That is why, ultimately you are in charge. You have the power."

[For now,] he added silently.

Once more, she eyed him, and then apparently dismissed her concerns. "Very well. We must all work together for the Light. Have you picked the next target?"

Dagger nodded. "I've narrowed it down to a few, and you should have plenty of material this time."

"We'll be fine processing what we have for the next few days, so you should hold off a bit," Lance instructed him. "It will also give some time for things to quiet down at the Bureau. Contact me when you are ready. For the Light."

"For the Light," Dagger responded automatically as the image on the screen vanished, but his mind was contemplating future actions.

x~~*~~x

"You won't be home tonight, either?" Nanoha questioned, hoping her voice didn't sound too unsteady.

Yuuno appeared apologetic. "Sorry, Nanoha, but I'm still training an assistant to deal with the increased workload, so I need to stay close at hand in case she need help. But hopefully, in a few days, she can take over and I can start coming home again regularly."

"_I said I'm going to be at the library all this week and next... I have a new intern to train."_

Nanoha shook her head, trying to clear the remnants of the nightmare. [He's not like that! I should trust him!]

"I see," she said out loud, tightening her grip on the kitchen towel. "So it is because of your work. Then I suppose there is nothing you can do."

"_Who is she?"_

"I'm really sorry," Yuuno apologized again, and then rubbed the back of his head with his hand while giving her an embarrassed smile. "It looks like this increased Bureau activity has chained both Fate and I to heavier workloads, haha."

"_The intern you're cheating on me with!"_

Nanoha gave him her best, reassuring smile in return, trying to ignore and force down the voices of doubt and uncertainty clawing in her mind. "It can't be helped. I suppose I'm feeling a bit left out, since I am currently off-duty." _And because it is getting harder to get around and do things with this fat belly,_ she didn't add. She wasn't about to say that to him, mostly because she knew herself to be stronger than that.

Yuuno smiled softly. "I suppose that's something all three of us share; an ardent passion for our work."

"Yuuno, I'm having difficultly with this spell," came a feminine voice from off screen. "Can you give me a hand?"

"_Who is she?"_

Nanoha winced and grabbed her head; the voice flashback was stronger that time.

Yuuno didn't see her reaction, however, as his eyes trailed to respond to the person off screen. "Sure, I'll be there in a moment!" He turned back. "I suppose I'll need to... are you okay?"

Nanoha gave him another smile while rubbing her temples. "It's nothing, just a bit of fatigue, I think."

"Well, take care of yourself," he told her sympathetically. "I should get going."

"I love you," Nanoha felt suddenly forced to say, as it almost appeared as if he wasn't going to say it.

As usual, he appeared embarrassed at the notion, but eventually softened and replied in kind. "I love you, too."

As his screen flicked out of existence, Nanoha almost thought she felt a bit better, but there was still that worry in the pit of her stomach, gnawing at her. Despite her efforts, she couldn't fully dispel it.

"When did I become like this?" she said out loud, shaking her head and clenching her fists. "This isn't like me at all. It's just the pregnancy and a bad dream, playing havoc with my hormones and mental state. Yuuno and Fate are both doing their best, and I have to as well. They are working hard, so I have to as well. maybe... if they can't come to me..."

Brightening as the idea entered her mind, she opened up another holoscreen and made a second call, spirits lifting as the female secretary answered.

"Oh, Mrs. Takamachi, how can I help you?" came the cheerful and friendly inquiry.

"Yes, could you tell me when my husband leaves the library and heads to the room he sleeps in when he spend the night there?"

The secretary paused for a moment as she looked up her information, but Nanoha was feeling a bit strange at the puzzled look that crossed the secretary's face. "I'm sorry, he appears to have left the library already, but he wasn't headed to his room. I am afraid he didn't tell me where he was headed."

Ice seemed to form in Nanoha's veins, but she steeled herself through long practice, and put on a disarming smile. "Okay, thanks anyway. I'll contact him later myself."

She held that friendly face as the screen closed and the call ended, and then immediately felt a bit shaky. A female intern? And he had left the library? The dots were starting to connect themselves in her head.

[He couldn't...] she told herself. [He wouldn't...]

_But he's been spending the night there quite often lately..._

She nearly jumped; that thought hadn't been part of the nightmare, and she was unsure where it had come from. Was it hers? Had she really thought that?

"I can simply clear this up right now," she stated confidently out loud, reaching up and bringing a new holoscreen up. But her hand paused on the call button, unable to touch it for some reason. She bit her lip, and then shook her head, letting the holoscreen fade out. "No. I trust him."

x~~*~~x

"A purely visual scan indicated elevated heart rate and agitated nervous system," the young female voice reported from the jewel on his bracelet.

Yuuno blinked, and then glanced down as the short hologram of Alicia flickered into existence, the Ai program from the device he had obtained from Al Hazard. "You could tell that just from looking at her through a holo screen?"

"As you know, in order to better understand the emotions of humans, I have taken to analyzing their subtle audio/visual responses," she explained. "It is my hope to eventually be able to mimic said responses, once I have enough data."

He was intimately aware of it; the AI program had been curious ever since Nanoha had broken her attempted programing of Yuuno with a simple kiss, that had help jump start his relationship with both Nanoha and Fate. And although the program had merely taken on the appearance of Alicia, the latest individual to be assimilated into Al Hazard's master computer system, as well as her memories, it wasn't quite able to figure out human intuition and emotion. Taking the name of Alicia, she had decided that it was critical that she study humans to understand these particular traits.

"So, did you detect something wrong with her?" Yuuno asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"I am... unsure," Alicia replied, and the expression that appeared on her face, made it hard to tell if she was really uncertain, or just trying to fake the expression. "Nanoha is normally a confident and self-assured individual. I have rarely detected the combination of subtle autonomic feedback that I observed just now."

Yuuno thought for a moment, and then sighed. "And if something was bothering her that she didn't think we could do anything about, she wouldn't tell us, either. She knows that the Bureau has Fate and I booked solid with work, so perhaps it is finally getting to her." And to tell the truth, he was beginning to feel guilty about leaving a pregnant Nanoha to take care of Vivio alone.

Alicia shrugged, her clueless expression greatly making her appear more human. "Perhaps."

He thought about it some more, and then snapped his fingers. "Alicia, work on a schedule that will allow me to take this Friday evening off; that's four days away. I'll double up where I can, working through breakfast and dinner."

"Do you want me to inform Nanoha?" she inquired.

Yuuno shook his head and then smiled. "No, I'll let it be a surprise."

"Yuuno?" came the young girl's almost-impatient inquiry from the next room.

"Oh, sorry, Els," he replied, raising his head. "I'll be right there!"

x~~*~~x

"Any updates?" came Tre's voice in her ear communicator.

Quattro yawned, absently gazing out at the window towards the spacious condo below and across the street. General Atrai was visible within, sitting on his couch, hunched over a few data tablets spread out on his coffee table. Auris had become convinced Atrai was up to something, and while Quattro agreed, she found stakeouts rather boring, and thus really desired ways to pass the time.

"None, as usual," she replied absently, lazily raising her finger to tap a square on the holoscreen in front of her. "I would have let you know if there were. He had dinner and then a shower, and now he's currently reading some assignment reports, but nothing unusual. He's probably the most boring General in the Armed Forces."

"Understood, I'll relay that to Auris," Tre replied, and after a short pause, added in a disapproving voice, "And I hope you're actually paying attention and not playing Minesweeper again."

Quattro quickly closed down the window and chuckled, winking at Sette who had turned back to level a gaze at her. "Why, of course not!"

"...right," Tre responded, not sounding entirely convinced. "Well, I'll check back in at 2300 hours."

Sette sighed and resumed watching through her high-tech binoculars as the #3 cyborg signed off. "You _could_ assist me in keeping watch. This is our assignment and we should be fulfilling it to the best of our abilities."

Quattro sighed internally; Sette was the same as always, ever the consummate warrior. Out of all the Numbers, she was the closest to being the perfect soldier. No matter who was involved or what the situation comprised, she would carry out her mission with tireless dedication. Hardened devotion to duty, and nearly perfect control of emotions; those were the two traits that best defined her in Quattro's eyes. Regardless of the task and distractions, she could carry it out in as clinical and emotionless as possible.

"I've already hacked his house security systems and planted all my trackers and recording devices," the electronic warfare cyborg countered, waving her hand to open up several holo screens showcasing various camera angles. "And I've have stealth programs combing through his personal files, although there isn't anything interesting there. Whatever he's doing, he's keeping it off his books."

Sette shrugged, continuing to keep a close eye on Atrai in his condo. "Perhaps this really is a waste of time, then."

Quattro studied one particular holo screen, reading the lines of data that scrolled past. "I doubt that. There are a few too many suspicious holes. For one, his whole 'Saint Church Initiative' where he wants to have the council legislate that the Church join the Bureau, and thus bring it directly under army supervision... there isn't any reasons written down in his files as to _why_ he wants this. No proposed Enforcer rotations to deal with it... no hint as to what would come after. What are his plans? What is he after? What little fun game is he playing?"

By this time, Sette had turned back to observe Quattro's expression grow more and more animated. "Well, at least someone is enjoying herself."

"Oh my, you got me!" Quattro replied slyly with mock embarrassment. "I have to admit, I thought this would be boring. While Auris is no Jail, she is rather crafty, and these games are entertaining." She paused, her grew growing more mischievous. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Sette questioned doubtfully.

If it was at all possible, the Cheshire grin only widened."Well, you have been spending more and more time with that... what was his name? That Benzo fellow?"

She was rewarded with the barest of blushes gracing Sette's cheeks, who quickly snapped her attention back to the binoculars. "He requested extra warrior training, and I have been assisting him with that. I admire his spirit."

"Spirit, right," Quattro said, nodding. "And that's all you admire, hmm?"

Truth be told, Quattro didn't really care about Sette's ongoing affair with the young lieutenant from that mission to the secret moon awhile back. But teasing and probing for new information were two of Quattro's most cherished pastimes, with torture being a close third. And this fulfilled all of them, as well as made the time pass quicker. And it was very seldom that Sette had showcased anything that would allow Quattro this chance; it was a rare and golden opportunity.

"So," she continued. "That movie he took you to... _The Enforcer's Last Stand_... was merely training? And the meal that came afterward, just simple nourishment?"

But apparently Sette was either in no mood for this line of conversation, or didn't know how to handle it. "We're on the clock."

Quattro sighed, knowing she'd have more opportunities in the future. "You're no fun."

The response wasn't what she expected; Sette's body had suddenly gone tense and focused. "Something's happening. His aide, Chiage Anras, has shown up."

Qauttro focused in on the living room camera, as Atrai stood up and Chiage whispered into his ear. She frowned; the bugs were designed to pick up and enhance any sound, but it was detecting no audible voices. It could have been a small spell to mask their talk, but why bother if he thought he was safe in his own home?

Finally, there came a voice, when Atrai spoke out loud. "She has? I should have expected as much. I'll handle it later. I'll forward the information on."

Chiage nodded, and then left the room, and there was nothing more said about it, but Quattro was even more intrigued; none of the reports on his table seemed to correlate with what he had just said. The incident with Sette now long forgotten, Quattro focused in on her primary challenge: what General Atrai was up to.

From personal experience, she knew when someone had hidden motivations and plans; Due had trained her well in that regard. And if there was one thing these days that gave her life meaning, it was a worthy opponent. She gleefully rubbed her hands together, and dove back into the computer files with renewed vigor.

x~~*~~x

"Are you okay?" Fate asked her former partner as the woman entered the command center.

Teana glanced at her bandaged arm and leg, suddenly distracted out of her thoughts. Her mind had been repeatedly going over what her opponent had said; If she was speaking the truth, was that mystery woman the person who had killed her brother? At the time, that particular mage had managed to get away, and there weren't many clues as to who it was. All the data she had obtained from her brief tangle with her own opponent, was a series of blurry and unclear pictures.

Teana shook her head and then glanced at Fate, who was currently leaning against the wall, taking weight off her right foot."I could ask you the same thing."

Fate's smiled ruefully. "It's still a bit numb, but feeling is returning. Looks like we all had issues this time around. Even Sephia's target get away."

"My apologies," the solemn woman leaning against the wall stated, lowering her head in a humble bow. "But he had apparently prepped a teleport spell upon entering the stairwell. I caught the tail end of the spell effects, however, I regret that I was unable to identify the suspect."

"But at least you got Galiboni and his driver," Teana added, her thoughts going back to her own mysterious opponent. "How is the interrogation going?"

"He has yet to awaken," Shari answered, the fourth and last person in the room. She had been tapping away at a keyboard, going over data. "He's being prepped for transfer back to the main branch for questioning, though. However, we have a new problem: a few days ago, a small town on Mid-Childa was attacked an wiped out. So far, only two survivors, a pair of young children. Ginga and Cinque are heading up the investigation."

Teana's eyes widened.

"_If you're interested, perhaps we can meet again on Mid-Childa... if you survive, that is!"_

She bit her lip; it couldn't be coincidence... could it?

"I'm thinking that one of us should head back to personally share our intelligence on this," Fate suggested.

"You feel there is a connection?" Sephia questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I do not see how. Why not just send them our our data?"

"You're concerned a possible leak in the Bureau, too, aren't you?" Teana accurately guessed.

Fate confirmed it with a nod. "It's only a hunch, but something tells me more is going on here. We have to be careful of who we trust, what information we share, and what channels we use, so this has to be done personally. One of us can handle the interrogation of Galiboni and his driver, and the third can handle the search of the planet for the other members of the Orion syndicate. Even locking down the starport, I don't think we can stop them from fleeing the planet, but we have to try."

"I'll go to Mid-Childa," Teana stated confidently, meeting Fate's gaze. "I work well with the Nakajima family. Also, the Bureau has wanted to assign a new aide to me for Enforcer training, which I put off to continue helping out here. I might as well take them up on it. If there is a connection, that reason alone will give me cover to avoid suspicion."

Fate studied her former student. Her years of long service let her know that Teana seemed to be holding something back, something else that motivated the younger agent's desire to return to Mid-Childa. If Shari and Sephia weren't present, Fate might have pressed Teana to spill it. But then she also remembered that Teana was a full-fledged Enforcer now, and she had to trust the other woman; Teana would tell when the time was right.

Fate nodded. "Very well."

"I can handle the interrogation," Sephia added. "I am highly skilled in such matters."

"Then I will take the squad and handle the search," Fate stated. "I wish we had more people available, but the Bureau is stretched thin at the moment."

"Orussia is requiring nearly a full division all by itself, to respond to the planet's government's request for aid in the expanding civil war," Teana noted, then her eyes widened in sudden realization. "I think I might see the reason for your hunch... is it a ploy to leave the main branch or Mid-Childa open for attack?"

Fate shook her head. "I'm not sure. But even if it was, we'd need more proof than just my hunch. Find out if there is any threat to Mid-Childa or the main branch, and we'll be able to get the Bureau to redirect forces. Good luck; I know you'll do a good job! "

She would tell herself later, that if she had only known what was coming, she would have gone back herself instead of sending Teana.

x~~*~~x

Dagger caught the end of the training session, and thus was waiting as the woman exited the room. "How is she progressing, Nanoha?"

She shot him a dark look, and then shrugged. "Rough around the edges, but highly skilled when she reaches a sufficient level of focus. Power is still a bit lacking, and she doesn't seem to plan her tactics much, though she is beginning to think more. She seems to rely mostly on her inherited skill set."

He glanced once through the window, where the pupil had yet to move from her position at the bottom of the newly formed crater. For a moment, he had wondered if Nanoha had left the girl alive, and then he saw the barest hints of movement. He glanced warily at Nanoha's back; she was very much the demon he figured she would be. Only the control spells woven into her summoning, prevented her from turning that awesome power on him. And there was no mistake she would; she had made her dislike of him obvious.

"I see," Dagger said simply, falling into step beside her. "How soon do you think she will be ready?"

Again, Nanoha shrugged. "Another week or two, maybe as long as a month, if she keeps at this rate. Raising her magic power level will take considerably longer, but I should have the kinks ironed out."

He nodded; that was within the accepted time frame. "I have another mission for you."

"Another small village?" she spat with obvious distaste.

He shook his head, reaching into his cloak to pull out a piece of paper to hand to her. "No, this time, I it will be something that I think you'll find more... palatable."

She stopped, the edges of her lips twitched as she scanned it, and then the paper vanished, incinerated in a flash of magic. "I should have figured. But this time, I want something."

He nodded again; she was acting the way he expected. "I thought you might ask. And if you complete this task, I will work on it. However, it will take something considerable to bring her here to Mid-Childa."

She eyed him, the barest hints of surprise in her deep blue eyes; but that was all he could read from her and he found it a bit troubling. "Very well." She turned and rapidly walked off.

"Remember, we ultimately want the same things, you and I," he reminded her, calling after her but making no move to follow. "Continue to serve the Light, and your goals shall be met as well."

She paused again, partially turning her head back toward him, a smile on her face that reminded him of the tightrope he was walking. "Yes, they will."

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

The plot thickens, and hopefully I've set out quite a few clues. Depending on how well you know the original material, you may pick up quite a bit, or at least work out some things. Title for this chapter comes from a particular song. If you are familiar with the song, you can see why, but I think it encompasses most of what this chapter contained.

Stay tuned for more twists and turns to come!


	5. Second Strike

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 5: Second Strike**

Xx~~*~~xX

Subaru glanced over the crowd, waiting as the arrivals stepped off Clanagan's teleportation pad and exited through the aisle to the concourse. One by one, each newcomer met up with friends or family, or exited the ingress area with little fanfare. She double-checked the time, wondering if perhaps she was early or late, but then felt a rush of relief as a familiar face finally appear. Enthusiastically, she quickly surprised the woman with a hug, despite the latter's mild protest.

"Welcome back!"

Teana blushed, not really as put off by the act as she might have made it seem; while she had grown accustomed to her new relationship with her old friend, public displays still made her feel a bit awkward. "Thanks. I just wish it could be under better circumstances."

Subaru pulled back, sobering immediately, and nodded "I take it you heard about the case Gin is currently handling? You weren't very clear in your message."

Teana nodded, glancing around, and then the two fell into step as they walked away from the teleport pad. "That's partially why I'm here. I'll explain it to you later, but not here. Has Ginga or Cinque found anything else out?"

"We found two children several days ago," Subaru replied as the pair began to descend a long escalator. "They have since been transported to the Bureau's medical ward, but neither have said anything yet. They are still in shock, apparently. Not that I blame them, seeing their own parents die in front of them..."

Unconsciously, Teana's hand clenched into a fist; was that woman who attacked her at the Orion Syndicate meeting behind this somehow? If so, there would be hell to pay; not just for her brother, but for that town and those kids. She wanted to ask if Subaru had any more information, but refrained while they were out in public.

And then they exited the starport, into the parking garage, and Teana noticed what Subaru was heading towards.

"You... drove my bike?" she questioned in disbelief. Technically, it was Vice's motorcycle that he had given to her, since she had fallen in love with it. And while Subaru could drive it, she generally tended not to, preferring a car instead.

Subaru leapt ahead and stood by it, smiling brightly. "I figured it would cheer you up. I know how you miss it when you're away."

Teana shook her head at her partner, but couldn't help smiling as well, and easily slid onto the seat while running her fingers over the handlebars. It was an older machine, but Teana loved every inch of it. Subaru slid into the seat behind her, and wrapped her arms around the other's waist, giving a squeeze as if to say she was ready. Teana wasted no time in revving it up, and then peeled out of the parking spot and into the street. For a moment, she could forget everything, and just enjoy the wind in her hair, but the realities of the situation eventually intruded back into her thoughts.

"[Has anything else happened?]" she inquired telepathically.

Subaru shook her head, even though Teana wasn't in a position to see it. "[Not since the attack almost a week ago. We still have no idea as to the attacker or motive. No idea who would want to wipe out a small town.]"

Teana could feel that Subaru was holding herself in check as well; this had affected her deeply. And to a point, Teana understood; she had heard about brutal acts of violence on planets well outside Bureau space, and on planets engaged in civil war like Orussia. But to happen on Mid-Childa of all places...

"[You know something, don't you?]" Subaru suddenly asked, and Teana could feel the tension in those powerful arms around her waist.

She sighed. "[Not as much as you might think. But I'll tell you when we meet with Ginga and Cinque.]"

She hated keeping quiet about this, especially to Subaru, the girl who had become an important fixture in her life, and so she was partly glad Subaru couldn't see her face at the moment. But it suddenly occurred to her that if the Bureau was compromised, then _anyone_ could be the leak. They might not even be aware that they were. Her thoughts turned toward her partner, holding on behind her, barely even able to bring up the horrible thought.

What if it was Subaru?

As she weaved in and out of traffic, pushing the old bike harder, Teana had no idea who she could trust, and suddenly felt very much alone.

x~~*~~x

"QUINN!"

"Huh?" Quinn uttered in a tired, almost bored tone, turning back to see the lone individual who had shouted her way. The street was empty except for Quinn, her two cohorts that she was rarely without, and the newcomer. But the individual standing several steps away, merely made Quinn blink in bewilderment. "What do you want, little girl?"

For some reason, that only made said little girl appear even more upset. "I'm here to tell you to leave my friend alone!"

"Who?" Quinn questioned, absently rubbing a finger in her ear to clean in, in a show of boredom.

Kaena had to lean over to whisper in her leader's other ear. "That's Rio Wesley, friend of Vivio Takamachi."

A slow smile spread along Quinn's face. "Oh? Is that so? One of her majesty's little servants has come to confront me?" She took several slow steps to come to stand right in front of the smaller girl, making the difference in their heights all the more apparent. "Why should I?"

"I'm not her servant, but her friend," Rio countered adamantly, defiance still present in her expression. "You could be her friend, too. I've heard about you, and how you tend to pick on underclassman. Why do you do that? Why not try to be friends?"

Quinn nearly doubled over in laughter. "Bwahaha! Be friends with weak little girls like yourself? Oh, that's rich! You haven't learned how the world works yet. The strong always rule over the weak. Even your little friend uses her power for her own benefit."

"Vivio's not like that!" Rio shouted, fists clenching. "She's a good person, who only thinks of others!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Anyway, just leave her and our other underclassman alone, okay?"

"And who is going to stop me if I don't?" the taller girl asked, but it was more of a statement than a question. "You? Are you going to use your power to get your way, too? If so, you'd be learning the way of the world."

Rio's fists clenched even tighter, perhaps in realization that if she did decide to fight Quinn, she'd simply be proving the older girl's point. And yet, everything in her body was screaming to show the delinquent who was boss.

Quinn's Cheshire smile grew at the lack of vocal response, and then mockingly slapped her hands onto her cheeks. "Oh dear, looks like she lost her nerve. Maybe she only meant to scare me into subservience. Perhaps it worked, and I'm now too scared to do anything!" The older girl turned to go.

A surprised Rio watched her go, knowing she had been mocked, but unsure as to what to do next. Unfortunately, Quinn decided for her.

"Or maybe not," the tough mini-gang leader stated, suddenly spinning back to Rio and grabbing the smaller girl's shoulders, and then slamming her knee into the other's gut.

Rio doubled over instantly in pain, her eyes watering and her insides contorting in torment as she fought for breath and balance. If she hadn't been training with Nove for the past several months, she was sure that would have been unable to move after that.

"Quinn..." Gwen cautioned, reaching a tentative hand out. "We shouldn't fight with her; she'll tell the school and we'll get expelled!"

The leader, however, ignored her underling, continuing to taunt Rio. "Well, is that all you have? We're not at school, so you don't have to hold back, little girl. If you want to play in the big woman's world, you better learn your place now. Perhaps you're not ready to join us, though. But maybe we'll make your friend join us."

"No..." Rio stated, her voice wavering more than she would have liked, as she unsteadily brought herself to her feet. "If you're going to... pick on someone... then..."

"What was that?" Quinn asked, making a show of cupping her ear. "You want more, little girl? Very well, I'll make this the last thing you see." She began to wind up her right fist.

"Quinn, don't!" Gwen cried urgently, but she was too late.

Quinn's fist shot forward.

"Emergency Set Up!" an electronic voice chirped at the same time.

...and smacked straight into an open palm of a much taller girl.

"What the...?!"

"I said," the now-taller Rio repeated in adult-form. "If you're going to pick on someone, then pick on someone your own size!"

"Why you..." Quinn growled, a bit distressed at how she couldn't free her fist, so she struck forward with her left hand instead.

"Flame-Lightning Cannon!" Rio shouted as her right leg shot upwards, crackling with fire and lightning magic, faster than Quinn's fist could move.

The older girl's body was rocked of its feet, and then Rio spun and delivered a second kick that sent the teen delinquent skipping down the street and into the concrete wall that lined the avenue. Quinn appeared dazed, but not out, surprising Rio with the woman's endurance. But then again, she wasn't the leader of her own little mini-gang for nothing.

Quinn regained her feet, wiping the blood from her cracked lip. "So, you want to play rough, do you? You'll regret this. Kaena, Gwen!"

Rio assumed her combat stance, as the three women approached.

x~~*~~x

Hayate sat alone in her darkened office, slowly turning the pages of her photo album, that she normally kept in her drawer. This was one of the few quiet times she could get to herself, and she felt that this simple action of viewing her past helped keep her grounded. There were pictures of Nanoha, Fate, Arisa, Suzuka, Yuuno, and their families, but also of her own family, and of Graham and his his two familiars. The latter brought up mixed, yet fond feelings, and was probably the reason for her introspecting this evening.

Atrai's words were still foremost on her mind, and she had been hard-pressed to come up with counters to them. But more than that, it was the drive she felt from the man, the self-assurance of his path, that really made her question things. Was he right? What had shaped him into the person he was? She was aware of some of his past, that he had been taken in by the Saint Church at a young age, due to abusive parents. Sometime later, he had emerged from the Church orphanage to join the Bureau.

But what made him want to investigate the very Church that had taken care of him?

Curious, Hayate set the photo album aside and pull up a holographic screen. She knew a bit about his record from his official file, but maybe there were additional records elsewhere she could find. Maybe by understanding where he came from, she could better understand him.

So motivated, she began her search.

x~~*~~x

"...and don't think of harassing anyone else ever again!" Rio lectured, panting, to the three women laid out in the middle of the deserted street, pock marks from the recent battle marring the walls and road.

Quinn couldn't even respond, whether due to extreme fatigue, lack of breath, or her sore jaw. Instead, she just laid there as Rio turned and walked away, reverting to her smaller form. She had miscalculated, badly; Rio was much stronger than she appeared, and she didn't expect the other girl to be able to grow into an adult form. Quinn hadn't fought people bigger than her since the old gang broke up. How far she had fallen, she realized, from the old days.

[Why did you break up the gang, Buster Head?] she wondered for the millionth time. [We had everything, so why?]

Laying there, listening to the faint yet recovering breath of Kaena and Gwen, she inwardly railed at why the reasons still escaped her. And if Rio was that strong, and was willing to make good on her threat, then what remained for her? If she couldn't establish herself at school...

That's when a shadow overlaid her prone form, and spoke with a woman's voice. "You failed."

Quinn's fist clenched, a reminder of her previous failure, and the promise that cooperation would bring. "She was stronger than-"

"Excuses," came the cutoff response. "And that is not how you failed."

"But you told us to threaten her!" Quinn protested, feeling a bit of strength coming back; was she finally recovering?

"You failed to give her proper motivation," the woman explained, her voice remaining nearly flat and emotionless. She reached down and grabbed the front of Quinn's collar, hoisting the teen girl up fairly easily.

Quinn once more felt fear, as the memory of llosing to this woman with the strange eyes reasserted itself, fresh in her mind. A woman who had suddenly challenged her out of the blue, and in her defeat, Quinn had recognized the signs of possibly a new leader, to replace the one she had lost. "To become stronger" the woman had explained, and Quinn valued that thought as well. It had been her previous leader's mantra as well, and thus why Quinn had decided to follow this new woman.

"But you can yet serve one more purpose," the woman stated simply.

Quinn's eyes went wide; despite the unnaturally neutral tone, the way the cryptic comment was phrased, carried deadly serious implication undertones. That instinctive feeling was backed up by the way the woman cocked her other fist back.

"Don't, Heidi-!"

"Sky-Severing Knuckle," the woman announced in the same flat voice.

The impact to her gut was severe, destroying all strength that Quinn had managed to recover thus far, even as she threw up blood and what little lunch she had in her stomach. The second magic-enhanced punch simply made her fold like a puppet with its strings cut. Mercifully, the third one rendered her blissfully unconscious.

"NO STOP!" Gwen cried, witnessing her leader passing out. She had just regained consciousness herself, although Kaena was still out.

The woman paused for a moment. "You wish to protect this one? Then watch. I will have need of you."

Helpless, and with tears in her eyes, Gwen could only watched as a final punch sent Quinn careening into the concrete wall, cratering it upon impact. Her body slid off and dropped to the ground, arms and legs powerlessly like a rag doll.

x~~*~~x

"Nanoha, I'm home!" Yuuno announced, coming in the front door. He frowned when he got no response. "Nanoha?"

The lights were on, but the house was silent, and felt empty. Vivio was with Corona in the Infinity Library, attempting to fill in and assist Els Tasmin, the young girl he had been training as an assistant. Vivio had also shown a knack for information handling, and Corona held a love of books, which was why he felt confident letting them handle the more minor information retrieval requests for a day. Nanoha knew Vivio would be helping him at the library, but she wouldn't have known he was coming home as a surprise.

So where was she?

He wandered into the kitchen, but didn't see any washed plates or bowls, or any meal ingredients out, which meant she hadn't yet eaten dinner nor prepared anything. Had she stepped out for a bite to eat? Yuuno was tempted to place a call to her, but thought better of it. He still wanted to surprise her, and if she would be coming home soon, then he didn't want to ruin the surprise.

"Hmmm..." he mumbled to himself, glancing at the refrigerator, and then at the pantry.

He wasn't the best cook, but maybe for once, he could fix a little meal for the two of them and surprise her with dinner?

x~~*~~x

_Why am I here?_

She shook her head, even though the unbidden thought summed up her reaction towards finding herslf in this seaside park. It had always been a favorite of Nanoha's, since it reminded her of the one back in Uminari, where she had fought Fate over the Jewel Seeds.

"Fate-chan..." she whispered, glancing out over the seaside railing at the crashing waves. In the distance, the sun had long since began its own dip beneath the waves.

It was supposed to be just a trip for groceries, but a random urge brought her here, where her thoughts turned toward he close friend and now wife. Perhaps because she had been unable to contact Fate for the past few days, and right now...

[What am I doing?] she halfheartedly chided herself.

_Mama! Papa!_

She grabbed her head, recalling those tearful voices as clear as day.

_Who is she?!_

"Stop it..." she gasped out, stumbling back from the railing and into a park bench.

_I'm sure you'd like to be rid of that thing within you._

The sheer revulsion at the unwanted thought made her vision swim temporarily, but she fought it down and applied breathing techniques to regain her composure. She set her grocery bag down, letting her thoughts drift to not only the dinner she was going to make, but the lunch she planned to bring to Yuuno tomorrow. If he was unable to come home, she'd just have to visit him.

"I can't let them see me like this," she told herself, rubbing her eyes with her palms. "They'll just attempt to baby me again."

She'd always dealt with her problems and issues by herself, through long practice and habit; she wasn't about to give in now. Much like her adopted daughter, she had vowed to be strong, and she didn't want Fate and Yuuno to worry anymore about her; they were doing that enough with her pregnancy, and it had taken considerable effort to get them to stop waiting on her hand and foot once they found out.

A yawn escaped her lips as she found her attempt at meditation waning, and her eyes flickered open in an attempt to combat the oncoming drowsiness.

"Are you okay?" a female voice inquired.

_I just want to sleep._

Nanoha tiredly glanced up, blinking for a moment as the setting sun seemed to create a halo around the head of a woman standing in front of her. It also made the woman's facial features a bit hazy, and for some reason, Nanoha didn't feel much like fighting the overwhelming lethargy that was overcoming her in order to get a better look at the stranger. She did get the vague impression that the woman was reaching out to her, however.

"Just for a few minutes," Nanoha mumbled as her eyelids finally succumbed to their increasing weight, letting her head relax on the back of the park bench.

The sun finally dipped fully below the horizon, signaling that night had begun.

x~~*~~x

The woman withdrew her fingers from Nanoha's forehead, and then gently stroked the sleeping woman's hair. "I am sorry for what you must go through. But you must endure; this is the only way. I only wish I could do more. I promise I will tell you everything eventually, but until then, I need your help."

She let her mournful gaze linger a moment more, and then straightened and walked away, her form fading from existence.

x~~*~~x

"Haven't you made contact yet?!" Lt. Donald Pierce demanded as the complex shook again, and small pieces of dislodged ceiling rained on his head.

"Negative, I can't get through!" came the reply from his female partner, Lt. Raya Nomas, who was currently manning the console inside the secondary transmission room. "The barrier is preventing all communication from reaching outside the facility!"

The radio suddenly crackled to life. "The intruder has broken through the third line of defense! We need help up here NOW! Oh no, she's-"

Pierce stared at Nomas as the line went dead and the facility shook again. "There are a dozen squads stationed here. There is no way anyone could..."

He trailed off, the static on the line the only noise filling the small room. They had long ago lost contact with the main control room, as well as any higher level commanders. The attack had been so swift, and shortly after it began, they had been ordered to scramble, but had been unable to reach their posts and so had detoured to this communication room. The few messages that had gotten through to them, had stated that the unknown hostile was a single individual; but who could have such magical power?

And now, for all Pierce knew, they were the only two left. Thus, he instinctively knew it fell to them; they had to somehow get the word out, to let the Bureau know what was going on here.

He gripped his staff tightly. "You need to get away and hide. I'll lead the hostile away."

"You can't!" she told him instantly, grabbing his hand. "Judging by what we've heard, there is no way you'd fare any better! We'll both run-"

He shook his head, looking down at her with a soft smile and placing his hand over yours. "I know how you feel, but you'll have to forgive my macho pride, no matter how much you hate it. You have to survive. Someone needs to tell the Bureau what happened here, and you're better with movement magic. I won't confront the attacker directly, but try to lead them on a chase, at least long enough for you to get outside the barrier."

The room shook even hard this time, cracking the walls and ceiling while the lights flickered wildly, letting both know how short time was; the hostile was coming closer.

Raya stared into his eyes, wanting to argue differently, but knew there was no other choice; she was as much a professional soldier as he was. Instead, she squeezed his hand affectionately and told him, "Don't even think of fighting alone. Don't try to delay them. Just get their attention and run; you hear me?"

He nodded, and then headed towards the door, pausing a moment before exiting. "Wait two minutes, and then run."

And then he was gone, and Raya held her own staff at the ready.

x~~*~~x

It was even worse than he thought; bodies, the ones he could see, were littered about the the burning and smoldering rubble as he flew. The complex was nearly two kilometers in size, and didn't just contain soldiers, but their dependents and support staff as well. It was almost like a mini-town, with shops and homes. Yet, now there were precious few recognizable aspects left.

However, Donald Pierce had no time to grieve, nor consider the matter further. The demon was hot on his tail, although he hadn't had a good chance to take a look at her, yet. He hadn't been outside the room for more than a moment, when a magical beam threatened to end his plan, and his life, prematurely. Only his quick instincts had saved him, but now he was desperately flying for his life, although he got the distinct impression she might have been missing on purpose. Why? Was she toying with him?

Whatever it was, he risked a glance backwards to try and get a better look at her, but then realized she was no longer there. Confused, he brought his gaze forward again, just in time to see her floating directly in front of him. In the next instant, her hand smacked hard across his face, sending him tumbling from the sky. Several magical bullets slammed into his body from various angles before he hit the ground, robbing him of most of his strength. It was only then, as he struggled to rise and she landed nearby, that he finally got a look at her.

"C-captain Takamachi?!" he sputtered in disbelief. Her face and her history, were well-known to many Bureau personnel, and he had been somewhat of a personal fan.

The barest hints of surprise or shock seemed to flit across her otherwise-neutral expression. "You know me?"

"Of course I do!" he protested, using his staff to brace himself, the numb feelings beginning to give way to long-suppressed anger. "Wait, _you're_ behind this? Why? My family and friends... all this destruction.. how could you? Many of us looked up to you!"

There seemed to be a flash of anger in those nearly-dead eyes. "So, I earned the trust and respect of most of the Bureau?" A smile slowly formed on her lips, but it wasn't one that originated from feelings of earnest joy or happiness, and it sent chills down Donald's spine. "Oh, this is rich. You have my thanks. As a reward, I will make this quick."

Dumbfounded, Donald could only stare as she pointed her spear at him. He considered whether he had strength enough to dodge or shield, but concluded that neither was a possible option in his state. Unconsciously, his lips turned upward at the thought that Raya must have gotten away by now.

"Oh, if you thought you bought enough time for your companion to to escape..."

His eyes went wide as some rubble exploded outward nearby, and he realized she was using telekinesis to pull a bloodied body from the wreckage and toss it at his feet. His breath caught in his throat, as he beheld the non-moving form of his partner.

"Destroying that room was something I did immediately after you took off," she explained unemotionally.

His staff clattered to the ground, forgotten, and tears welled up in his eyes as he bent down to gently touch the still-warm body, and then desperately grab and cradle it in his arms. A sob escaped his lips, and then his angry eyes came up to meet Nanoha's, disregarding the glow of the gathering pink magic.

"How could you?!" he nearly screamed at her.

"I do what I must," she told him cryptically as the spell neared completion. "What's one more sin?"

He only had a brief moment to ponder that cryptic statement, before she fired.

x~~*~~x

He awoke to the sound of the front door closing, cursing himself for falling asleep; he had only intended to rest a little while. After finishing dinner, Yuuno had cleaned up and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally he decided to close his eyes and rest awhile. But now, a cold shiver ran down his spine as his eyes drifted across the illuminated 1:13am on the clock. Had he really been asleep that long?

That thought quickly vacated his mind when his gaze finally came to rest upon the person pulling herself into the living room. "Nanoha! I've been worried! Where have... Are you okay?"

Her hair was unkempt, almost wild, and her clothes are a bit dirty and heavily ruffled, as if she had been playing a rough contact sport. Her eyes, almost vacant, settled on him, and then began to waver. In the next instant, she was hugging him tightly.

"Nanoha?" he questioned, hugging her back.

"Don't ask," she told him, her voice on the verge of breaking. "Just... be with me tonight."

Surprise didn't even begin to describe his reaction. Neither did confusion or puzzlement. Whatever had happened, it was clear she needed some comfort and reassurance now. And so he just sank to the couch with his wife, holding her tightly, the now-cold dinner all but forgotten.

[Nanoha...] he pondered, stroking fingers through her hair. [What happened to you?]

x~~*~~x

[Stupid guards,] Galiboni thought to himself as he stealthily prowled the corridors. [I haven't survived this long in the syndicate without knowing how to evade the Bureau.]

It had been a simple matter to overpower the guards bringing him his feel. They probably felt that his girth meant he wasn't an agile fighter, and that without magic, he wasn't very dangerous. He had proved them wrong on both counts, using an inert pick hidden in his skin to undo his locks, and thus it was easy to surprise the two guards. They were out before they hit the floor. From then on, he only needed it to access a control panel and temporarily short out the electrical systems in this section of the ship, thus blinding all the cameras.

Now he just needed to get to the escape pods and he'd be home-free!

"You were attempting to damage the ship, putting the lives of all aboard in danger," a soft female voice stated.

He froze, turning to see a woman with long black hair standing there, an equally long and curved sword in her hand. "Agent Sephia, I presume." He threw up his hands, knowing he had no chance of outmaneuvering a high-rank Bureau Enforcer. A guard, maybe; but not someone this strong. "You're good, I'll give you that. Very well, I surrender."

She started to walk towards him, but something about the way she carried herself and and her neutral expression, sent a chill through his bones.

The sword tip began to rise. "Had I not stopped you, you might have damaged the reactor and blown up the ship."

Galiboni took a step back. "What are you..." He trailed off, noticing her gaze when she paused, and lifted his eyes, now catching sight of the "Reactor Room" plaque just above.

The footsteps resumed. "You had an explosive device, and were threatening to detonate it. I had no time. I tried to stop you, but it was too late."

He instinctively caught the small object that was thrown at him, recognizing it as a bomb. He immediately tried to toss it away, but it was stuck to his hands. "H-hey, you're Bureau! You're not supposed to-"

"It is unfortunate, but you should not have been caught," she told him, sword now gripped with both hands and pointed his way.

He finally understood, somehow managing to keep his cool "You let me escape. The others don't want me to talk. But I won't, and whatever they are paying you, I can offer you-"

She dashed towards him, just as the bomb exploded.

x~~*~~x

""Thank goodness you were able to shield most of the blast just in time," one of the technicians was saying, surveying the damage while others began to work on it. "A little more, and we might have had a problem."

The blast hole covered most of the door to the reactor room, but the greater portion of the corridor outside was blackened and scorched.

"And still I failed," Sephia stated solemnly, letting the med tech finish applying bandages to her arms, before standing up. "I will inform Fate Takamachi of this development."

He nodded, then noticed the cracks on her sword. "You should also bring your device in later and I'll look at it, to make sure the auto-regeneration program will fix everything."

She nodded and turned, already knowing that the "damage" to her device, would account for the missing data of her exchange with Galiboni. And thus, no one would hear what he had to say.

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

I'm getting a lot of comments about this story, people wondering about Sephia, and what is going on with Nanoha. While I've given some hints as to Sephia, the latter topic will remain a mystery for now. And expect to see the new mystery woman show up in strange places...

Sometimes I wonder, though, if I'm running too many mysteries at the moment...


	6. Masks

**MGLN: Through a Mirror, Darkly**

**Chapter 6: Masks**

Xx~~*~~xX

The folder of papers smacked the oak table, and the speaker let the sound from that impact echo throughout the chamber. In turn, he defiantly met each council member's eyes, letting them see the anger smoldering just behind. And then he glanced up into the general assembly, running a gloved hand through his short, yet thick black hair.

"48 confirmed dead," General Atrai stated evenly, letting his voice carry the weight of his emotions. "Over 150 still missing, and presumed buried in the rubble... or simply vaporized. Not one survivor from the attack nearly a week ago at our northern base."

"We are aware of the casualties," Auris began to say. She really hadn't been looking forward to this meeting, and Atrai's performance was a large reason why.

"Then give me my authorization!" he nearly snapped at her.

"My constituents are angry and demanding action, and rightfully so," Councilman Garin, one of the civilian positions, added. Of all the members on the council, he had been the only one who had yet to pick any sides, preferring to stay in the middle and arbitrate. "But we don't have proof that anyone in the Saint Church was behind this. Taking this action may cause more harm than good."

"Our base was on the outskirts of the autonomous Saint Church zone," the General reminded her, as if to point out who was responsible. "And I'm not asking to invade; only to send our Enforcers in to investigate! None of the other towns outside the zone had any information on how this could have happened. There is only one logical conclusion: the perpetrators come from within the zone. And I'm not saying the Saint Church had any official involvement in this; merely that their territory is being used to shelter terrorists!"

"It's a peaceful religion-" Auris began to say, but once again, Atrai instantly countered.

"Maybe some of them are," he conceded, nodding slightly. "Maybe most of them are. But some aren't, and the rest are complicit by sheltering them, and not strongly denouncing this violence."

Auris visibly and audibly sighed. "And then what would you do when you found out? Send our troops into sovereign territory? How would you like it if I unilaterally invaded your house, and dragged out one of your family members? Or perhaps we'd just conduct secret targeted killings, heedless of the collateral damage?"

Genya coughed politely to forestall Atrai's rebuttal. "Ms. Gaiz is asking, is what you plan to do if and when you discover those responsible. The Saint Church has its own laws, and we do have an extradition treaty with them."

"I would let justice run its course," Atrai stated. "But make no mistake: we have been attacked here. To not respond, would simply invite more attacks. I have dedicated my life to protecting the people under the Bureau's watch, and I would be negligent in my duty, were I to retreat from that now."

"I have to agree with the General," Councilwoman Telli conceded. "We need action, and the people want to know they will be protected. I can hardly tell them that we plan to sit around and do nothing."

The current elected council head, a woman in her late forties by the name of Kiala, rose and struck the gavel on her podium. "We have heard your... eloquent argument, General Atrai, and the council thanks you for your input."

He shot her a look, as if daring her to silence him instead of reminding him his time was up. But then, as if on second thought, he acquiesced by giving her a short bow before sitting back down.

Kiala cleared her throat. "Now then, we have heard the arguments over the past week, and the matter before us is grave indeed. I must admit, my own constituents are clamoring for action. Two major attacks in two weeks, and they are right to wonder why we can't protect them. No one wants to be next. But what we consider, revoking the Saint Church's autonomous status which has been in effect since the founding of the Bureau, is no less grave. Disregarding the civil rights we may violate, we'd also be risking war... a prospect I do not think any here would enjoin with relish."

She gave Atrai a pointed look, but he shot one right back as if to say "Of course we don't, but we can't ignore the danger, either!" Kiala let it pass, not rising to the bait; General Atrai had been given his say already.

The current council chair lifted her gaze to the 50-odd seats arrayed beyond the council table. "Does the general assembly have an opinion?"

Auris shifted her gaze as well, while the appointed General Assembly spokesperson made his way to the podium. The assembly, as a grouping of representatives from several dozen worlds, technically held no real power. But the Bureau had to keep their attitudes and thoughts in mind when creating policy. It was a compromise settled upon, in the wake of the Al-Hazard incident, since events on Mid-Childa led to the temporary removal of magic on several different worlds.

"Madam chairperson, honored members of the council,"Fyun, the General Assembly voice, addressed them. "As always, we remain divided, with many different opinions, but one thing is clear: This is currently an internal matter to Mid-Childa. We would prefer to see it resolved before it spreads to other planets. As long as that is accomplished, we do not hold a common opinion as to the methods involved."

And there it was, Auris realized. The other planets could hardly agree on much, other than hoping it didn't drop onto their doorstep. They bickered and fought and disagreed on almost every little thing, but the one thing they could agree on, was that they wanted the benefits the Administration Bureau provided. Even if it meant the loss of the Church's civil rights, they would turn a blind eye if the problem was resolved.

"Very well," Kiala acknowledged as Fyun stepped back. "We will schedule a vote on Atrai's proposal two weeks from now. I will adjourn this meeting, so that you all may begin your private deliberations. At stake is whether we should allow the military to set aside the Saint Church's autonomy, and conduct unilateral investigations and raids into its territory. This meeting is adjourned."

As everyone began to stand, Auris shot a dark look at Atrai, but he and the other General on the council, had already risen and turned to leave.

x~~*~~x

"Maybe we should look at the map again," Subaru suggested with a small frustrated sigh to the three other women in the small, yet cosy meeting room.

"We've looked at it _several_ times already," Teana pointed out with an annoyed breath, gesturing to the flat, holographic Mid-Childa map on the wide table which took up most of the room's center. "We only have two data points, which are the two attack locations. Maybe with a third we could triangulate, but even then, that might not mean anything."

She looked up to gauge the expressions of her companions, Ginga, Subaru, and Cinque, but they all appeared as puzzled and tired as she did. She hated suspecting them, but until she knew more about who the possible leak might be, she had to keep her cards close to her chest. And besides, she reminded herself, they might not even be aware they were a leak.

Ginga pursed her lips and tapped several keys on her screen, changing the view of the map. "Maybe, but I have to agree with my sister; I still think we're missing something. Let's go over what we do know: The first attack was the town of Cantor, here, several hundred kilometers to the southeast of the Saint Church autonomous area. The second attack was directly south of the zone near the border. They hit a Bureau base usually reserved for the purpose of joint-training exercises with the Church Knights. In both cases, there were no survivors, except for the two small children that were recovered from the first. However, they have been mute since then, unable or unwilling to speak."

"We still do not know why these two locations were targeted," Cinque added, her one good eye flicking between the map and a screen of data. "I can fathom no reason as to why an individual or group would destroy a small town in the middle of nowhere, and then a base dedicated to working with the Church. The only result has been heightened tensions of the public on both sides."

Teana shifted in her seat, and then stood up, circling the table as she tried to pin down that idea niggling just at the outskirts of her consciousness. "And at higher levels, it's increased distrust between the Bureau and the Church. But what would someone have to gain by doing that? Unless..."

Subaru perked up. "Tea? I know that look. You're thinking of something."

Teana held up her hand and ticked off her fingers. "Three possibilities come to mind. One: Someone is trying to undermine the public's faith in the Bureau. Two: someone is trying to start a civil war between the Bureau and the Church. Three: Based on what I've been hearing about the council, these events have led to a proposal to grant the Bureau some degree of control over the Church. Also, the targets hit so far aren't very strong. The civilian town is obviously a soft target, but you'd normally think the base would be hardened target. However, it was currently undermanned with only a few standard Enforcer squads for protection; all of the normal aces and military members were currently deployed elsewhere, or on vacation. The support personnel and their families were the only other ones that were left."

"What are you saying, then?" Ginga questioned, eyebrows furrowing. "Someone knew when it was at its weakest, and chose to hit it then? Sacrifice our own weak troops to justify a reason to take control of the Saint Church?"

"That does seem to be one of the theories," Teana admitted, before opening a few holographic windows containing various data. "But there was no one person involved in the transfers of military personnel here, and there is no evidence any of them were working together, or that one person controlled all of it. It's just routine maneuvers. Maybe...

She paused, then tapped a few keys and more locations sprung up on the map around the northern Saint Church areas. "These are all the towns and notable spots with people around the Saint Church zone. Cantor is the closest town to the southeast, and if we consider the military strength of the targets and their tactics, the base and the town are obvious targets. Which means whoever did this, has only a limited military capacity. If we cross off the larger targets which would be more difficult targets..." She tapped a few more keys, and several of the larger locations disappeared.

Cinque's unpatched eye narrowed. "You think you can predict where they will strike next." It wasn't a question.

"That still leaves four possibilities," Ginga noted, studying Teana's map deductions. "Two towns, a detention center, and a power plant. But those are all within the range of the Saint Church zone, assuming Cantor is at the edge. But that still leaves a lot to chance."

"However, it still gives _us_ a chance," Subaru pointed out, breaking into a grim smile. "Nice, Tea!"

Cinque nodded. "We can split up and cover each location, subtly, so as to not give away the fact we are setting a trap. I will handle the detention facility, if Ginga and Nove can cover the correction facility. I'll have Dieci and Wendi cover the town of Gorge Lake."

"Then Tea and I can take the town of Jasper," Subaru finished, earning a nod from her orange-haired partner.

Ginga closed her screens. "Even if we are right about the next attack, we don't know when it will happen. We could be there for weeks."

"If it will happen, it should happen in the next week or two," Teana stated. "No more than a month. That would fit a timetable for either of the two theories. We can at least spend a couple of weeks quietly building knowledge of the terrain and making contacts, and rotate agents. Our main goal is primarily recon, but also defense. We need only sound the alarm and delay any force long enough for reinforcements. And if we're wrong, we can figure something else out, but for now, this gives us a plan that I feel is worth trying" The door took that moment to chime and Teana, being the closest, turned and opened it.

The short-haired blonde woman in the black uniform on the other side, promptly saluted. "Runessa Magnus reporting. My apologies, but when I didn't hear from you, I decided to come meet you."

Teana slapped her forehead. "Crap... Sorry about that, I completely forgot. You're the one they assigned as my new aide, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Runessa answered promptly.

"At ease," Teana instructed, and then turned back to the other three women as the screens and map were closed. "I'll have to meet up with you later. I need to show Runessa around a bit first." As the three women waved, Teana returned her attention to her new aide and smiled. "Well then, shall we get started?"

Runessa seemed to finally relax a little, showcasing the barest hints of controlled enthusiasm. "Yes, ma'am!"

x~~*~~x

The double doors were slammed open to admit the determined young woman into the spacious office suite, but with a flustered female secretary trailing right after.

"I said you can't go in there!" the desperate secretary reiterated, trying to grab a hold of the intruder's arm.

Fate paused and met the eyes of the CEO on the other side of the large desk, who offered a warm, friendly smile. Inwardly, Fate wasn't too surprised to see him here; a part of her had deeply hoped that he wasn't. It would have made things easier.

"It's okay, Deira," Michi Baleno said, addressing his secretary. "Enforcer Fate Takamachi must have urgent business to want to see me on such short notice. I suppose I can take 5 or 10 minutes out of my busy schedule to assist her."

"Understood, sir," Deira returned, offering a short bow before backing out of the room.

Fate waited until the doors fully closed, before she finally spoke. "How did you get off the planet?"

He looked genuinely perplexed. "I'm sorry?"

"You, and the other members of the Orion syndicate met on unadministered world #104," Fate accused, opening a holographic picture taken from Cross Mirage that clearly showed him disembarking his ship. "Are you telling me this isn't you?"

He shook his head sadly. "How can it be? I'm sure you're aware of how easily it is for one person to pretend to be another, whether through magical means or otherwise. I'm not sure when this picture was taken, but I'm sure my secretary can provide information as to where I actually was during that time frame."

[That _would_ be too easy,] Fate decided, closing the screen and casually walking over to a variety of trophies in a case on the wall. After a week of searching the planet, she had finally determined that the Orion syndicate members had either fled, or had hidden themselves too well. And with her meager squad, she could admit to herself that she stood little chance of finding them. With Galiboni dead, the picture Teana took was her only lead.

Fate refocused on her current meeting, and tried a different tact upon turning back to face the CEO. "Your company, Baleno Pharmaceuticals, manufactures chemicals and medicines and delivers them to several planets under Bureau administration. If I were to look into your financials, would I find anything that might cause the Bureau to revoke your corporate charter?"

"You are welcome to look, Enforcer Takamachi, but I believe you'll find everything in order," Michi answered neutrally. "I can have my secretary make our records available to you, if you like. But I think you'll find our business above board. Our products help millions of people."

Fate found she was having trouble reading him, although she did note how carefully he had phrased his reply. His responses could be read a couple of different ways, and thus didn't quite come across as real lies. She went for her last trick, crossing the floor to his desk and placing her hands on it while leaning forward. Most people became unnerved when another person violated too far into their personal space, and thus this tactic had allowed her to trip up more than a few suspects.

"Your company manufactures P4XF, a potent explosive compound, which could be disastrous in the wrong hands," she stated evenly. "There have been quite a few incidents where an explosive with those properties was used."

He met her eyes with the same cool, unshaken demeanor. "And the Bureau carefully regulates my companies production and sale of that compound. If any groups did obtain it, they may very well have taken it from the Bureau-approved buyers we sell to."

Again with the subtle statements that weren't quite lies, Fate realized. He was good; when most people lied, there were usually small physiological indicators that could give them away: an increased pulse, increased sweat gland activity, subtle eye and cheekbone muscle movement. But Fate, trained as she was, saw none of that here, which made sense. He probably wasn't lying, and Fate could dance here all day if she wasn't going to get the straight answers she wanted.

And apparently, Baleno wasn't going to allow her to. "As much fun as this was, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me; I have an important meeting to attend. I will be happy to answer anymore questions you have, if you would do me the favor if scheduling an appointment with my secretary this time."

Fate knew when she had overstayed her welcome, and straightened up. "Very well. But I'll be keeping an eye on you. For both our sakes, I hope you are telling the truth."

She turned to walk back to the doors, and had almost reached them, when she heard Michi's voice once more. "Oh, and you might want to disable those listening spells you left. I am not sure you have a warrant for them, and thus any information you might obtain that way, wouldn't be admissible in a court of law." She nearly spun on her heel, leveling a gaze at him, only to see him smile slightly. "In my line of work, I'm extra-sensitive to attempts at corporate espionage, you see."

Only years of training made her able to hide most of her grimace, trying her best to internalize her disheartened feelings She paused for a moment before waving her hand, dispelling the small listening spells on the desk and trophy case. She then waited for his "Thank you," before continuing her trip out the door.

x~~*~~x

"Processing is proceeding as scheduled, finally," Lance reported from the screen. "Thanks to Dagger's little servant, we have plenty of material for now. We should be ready on schedule."

Sword glanced at the other three members hooked into this video conference, and ruefully realized that video was all but pointless; each was wearing the featureless mask that hid identities. It was probably overkill, but Sword knew very well that secrecy was their greatest weapon, and the slightest lapse could doom them all.

"I trust you are satisfied, then?" Dagger queried, barely glancing at the screen. He appeared to be working on something else while the small group had their meeting, as if he couldn't be bothered for such small things.

"For now," Lance replied, her voice indicating that it was just barely acceptable. "We will probably need another load before we have an acceptable number, however. As before, we weren't able to do a full recovery."

"We may not have that chance," Axe's gruff voice interjected. "The Bureau may not be caught by surprise so easily again. Already they are running their facilities at high alert, and even the Naval branch is considering sending additional enforcers to reinforce the ground branch."

"It is of no consequence," Dagger told them, swiveling in his chair to fully face the camera. "Where is your faith? Let the Bureau run around, helpless and confused. We shall be victorious."

"I would not underestimate the Bureau," Axe stated with the thin veneer of a threat. "Their people grow restless, and that will force the council to act. There are already measures before the council that would do that."

Dagger shrugged. "Let them. They won't find what they're looking for, and Carim Gracia would never let them try. And the chaos that would ensue, would merely make the fulfillment of our duty that much easier. But we've been over this before, and it is part of the plan. Right, my dear Axe?"

Axe was silent, declining to respond, and Sword wondered if something was passing between them. Their true identities were known only to the five of them; not even their closest followers knew of the other members of the secret alliance. Thus, she knew Axe was part of the Bureau, along with herself, and they were the main source of Bureau intel. Dagger and Lance were part of the Church, although in different areas. And as for Bow...

Lance coughed politely. "Be that as it may, with the plan proceeding apace, it is time for us to lay low for now. The Bureau and the Church will tear each other apart, leaving them unable to counter us when the time comes. If there is nothing else, I adjourn this meeting. For the Light."

"For the Light," they all intoned in unison, and then one by one, the holoscreens disappeared in front of Sword, until only Bow was left. For a moment, the two looked at each other through the small eyeslits in their masks, and then Bow removed his mask.

"What did you want to talk about?" Michi Baleano asked. "I presume that's why you remained after the others signed off."

Sword removed hers as well, revealing the face of Sephia Chevelle. "I heard you had some trouble. I'm sorry, I couldn't stop Fate from going to see you. Why did you not tell the others?"

Baleno waved it off. "It's nothing to worry about. She still doesn't have anything concrete, and by the time she does, it will be too late. With the Orion syndicate in disarray, the Bureau won't let this chance pass to deal a serious blow against it, thus tying up their forces for months; time enough for us to do what we must." His gaze changed slightly, as he focused in on her facial expression. "But that's not all, is it? You're still having doubts?"

"I will do my part to ensure the success of this plan," Sephia stated firmly, albeit with a slight waver in her tone that almost everyone else would have missed; but Baleno didn't. "Although I do feel there should be another way."

Michi sighed and nodded. "It's not that I don't know how you feel... I don't agree with everything Dagger has said, but he does have a point; the stakes are too high to consider anything else. Especially now that we have started down this path." He eyed her. "How is your daughter?"

"I... have not seen her in some time, but I hear she is doing well with her dojo," Sephia replied. "I do regret that I cannot be with her as much as I would like, but I am pleased she is able to stand on her own." Her expression became firm. "And I know, in order to give her a future, I will do what I must. Even if it means I must stain my hands."

x~~*~~x

The soft beeps recording the heart rate and other vitals, and the breaths assisted by the ventilation machines, were the only sounds in the hospital room as the young girl entered. Her eyes drifted over the three beds, and the still occupants within, and grit her teeth. The sound of the door softly closing must have woken up one, however.

Gwen blinked her eyes open and inhaled sharply. "Buster Head..."

The visitor with the dark red hair and twin pony tails, paused and glared in Gwen's direction. "I don't go by that name anymore."

"I-I'm sorry, Hari!" Gwen sputtered, her pulse quickening.

Hari Tribeca sighed, and then glanced at the other two. "What happened to you guys? Did Quinn do something stupid again?"

"We were attacked," Gwen stated softly, her eyes casting downwards.

Hari's own eyes narrowed. "By who?"

Gwen paused, biting her lip, and then spoke the name. "A girl named Rio Wesley who attends the Saint Church school. She threatened us with more if we ever crossed her again."

"One girl versus all three of you?!" Hari exclaimed, incredulous.

Gwen cringed. "She's stronger than she looks!"

"Sorry," Hari demured, and then sighed again as her eyes fell upon the still two forms in the other beds. Gwen was just barely able to see Hari's hands clench into fists. "When Quinn and Kaena awaken from their comas, tell them to stay out of things. I'll handle this."

"But-" Gwen started to say, convinced that Hari had to know that there was no telling when Quinn and Kaena would awake, if ever.

The former gang leader's eyes flashed in anger. "I said I'll handle this!"

Gwen cringed again, but didn't respond. Instead, she just watched the girl she used to call Buster Head, turn and walk back towards the door. As Hari's hand fell upon the doorknob, Gwen's need finally bubbled up and spilled over, compelling her to voice the question on her mind.

"Why did you break up the gang?" she questioned, her voice soft and timid. "For many of us, including Quinn, it was all we had. Tossed out by our families, or orphaned and disowned by society... the gang was our family."

Hari's fist tightened on the doorknob, and it took her several moments before she responded. When she did, her voice was equally quiet. "As I said back then, it was getting out of control. I meant it was a place for girls to be safe and gain strength. But people like Quinn began to abuse and flaunt the power they obtained, bringing down the rest of the group. I wasn't going to let something I created become something like that, so I ended it. Tell Quinn and Kaena that, and also tell them..."

She paused, as if something had caught in her throat. And it could have been Gwen's imagination, but Hari's voice seemed to have started to tremble slightly. However, when she spoke again, it was back to normal.

"Tell them, I'm sorry."

And then she was gone, and Gwen was once again alone with her two closest friends. She tried to tell herself that she had done what she had to, in order to protect them. She hadn't really lied, per se, just didn't tell the full truth. She wasn't quite sure what Heidi intended to gain by forcing Gwen to say what she did, nor did she know how Hari found out about them. Gwen suspected Heidi had a role in that as well.

But whatever it was, she told herself it was none of her business. She just had to protect Quinn and Kaena the only way she could; they were her family now.

x~~*~~x

"Yuuno..." came the low growl.

The archeologist-turned-librarian-turned-husband to not one, but two Bureau aces, groaned and turned over in his sleep. His mind and body, slightly roused, sought a return to the deep, dreamless sleep that they craved. Somehow, they knew what was coming.

"Yuuno!" came the low call again, this time accompanied by a rough shake, to which the young man blearily blinked his eyes open and spied the clock.

"Nanoha, it's 3am," he groused, pulling the blankets tighter and closing his eyes again.

Of course, that wasn't too much of a complaint, given how the last few days had gone. Nanoha seemed much happier now, although she had never revealed to him what her problem was, despite him gently prodding her. And so, he resolved to just be the supporting husband, to be what she needed right now, even though he had a sneaking suspicion her reason for rousing him was the same as the last three times.

"I'm hungry," she pouted.

He froze, but attempted a misdirection gambit. "There's food in the fridge downstairs."

She frowned. "We're out of cookie dough ice cream."

"I'll pick up some more later today," came his attempt to mollify her, hoping against hope it would work, but a part of him realized he probably wasn't going to be that lucky.

"I really, really wanted some right now," Nanoha pouted, laying a hand on her bulging tummy. "Shamal told me I should eat when I feel like it, since it's for the baby. And we both agreed that we'd do anything for him."

"Or her," Yuuno corrected, and then sighed, as the guilt trip began to hit home. He had promised to be supporting.

"It's a boy, I know it," Nanoha countered bluntly, crossing her arms under her chest. "Please? It won't take long. I know you want to be a good husband and father."

"Danger level has passed minimum safety threshold," Alicia chirped from the bracelet on the nightstand. "Odds of survival are 63.2% at best."

"Very cute," Yuuno grumbled.

Nanoha grinned. "See? Even Alicia agrees it's the right thing to do."

Yuuno pulled the pillow over his head.

The pregnant woman sighed. "Very well, I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice. Raging Heart, please."

"Barrier Jacket Setup," the red jewel declared from the nightstand as well. "Pregnancy Mode."

"Odds of survival have decreased to 18.6%!" Alicia intoned urgently, but with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Recommend immediate action!"

"Alright, alright!" the poor man announced, pulling his head out from under the pillow and throwing back the covers to sit up. "I'll go pick up your cookie dough ice cream. That 24-hour convenience store should be open, and they should have it."

"Thank you, Yuuno!" Nanoha replied happily, scooting over in the bed to hug him from behind, and then to give him a gentle push off the bed.

Yuuno grumbled something unintelligible as he went to put on some clothes, something to the effect of the things he went through. But although he put on the act, he knew that she was aware he was mostly teasing her; he WAS glad to do it, even if it felt like a hardship at the time. And she did seem better recently; he remembered that night a few days ago, where she had seemed so out of sorts and confused. She never did elaborate on what might have been bothering her, but it seemed that just his presence seemed to soothe whatever trouble he was facing.

So, despite their troubles, he was glad to do it. Bertween her, Fate, his friends, and his job, there wasn't much else he could possibly ask for.

Except for a full night's sleep, that is.

x~~*~~x

"I see, thanks, Yuuno," Fate addressed to the holoscreen, leaning back in her chair aboard the Bureau cruiser _Lanthera._"Are you sure she'll be alright, then?"

Yuuno pursed his lips thoughtfully as he walked, and then nodded hesitantly. "I think so. She seems better now, even though she's still holding something in. I didn't want to press her on it. I think she'll tell us eventually. I know she doesn't want us to worry." He held up the bag and smiled ruefully. "And I just got her ice cream, so that should help."

Fate couldn't help but smile, but also let out a small sigh. "She's always been like that, preferring to hold things inside, despite us telling her not to." Her mind flashed back to Nanoha's horrible accident years ago, and she had to shake her mind to drive it from her mind. "Should I come back, then? I know your work at the library must be piling up."

The Infinity Librarian grimaced. "Els is doing her best, with the occasional assistance of Vivio and Corona, but there is only so much they can do. I think a week is the most I can stay away for now, at least until things slow down. But you coming back, even for a day or two, could help."

"I should be able to arrange something in about a week, so I'll see what I can do," Fate stated with a nod. "I see your work is keeping you as heavily occupied as mine is. Most of the Bureau seems to be busy currently. I wish the timing were better." She tilted her head in thought. "Have you noticed anything unusual in the past month or two?"

He seemed to think for a moment. "I can't recall anything at the moment. Ah, I just arrived at the house, and Nanoha is calling. I'll let you know if I think of anything."

She smiled. "Alright, take care, I love you."

He responded in kind before signing off, and despite the sentiment, Fate was troubled. She couldn't get the feeling out of her mind that something was wrong. It wasn't just what she had talked about with Shari, Teana, and Sephia; her detective instincts told her there was a bigger pattern in play, however she couldn't quite bring it into focus. It was she was seeing pieces of a puzzle out of the corner of her eyes, but she couldn't see how the pieces all fit.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and stretched. Perhaps if she did something to relax, the answer would come to her. Maybe by spending some off time with Nanoha would help. That brought a smile to her face, and for a moment, she indulged in the sweet memories of her long-time friend and marriage partner.

Then she snapped out of it and got back to work on her reports.

x~~*~~x

Elsewhere, someone else leaned leaned back in his own chair, and addressed the woman in the monitor. "I see, very interesting, thank you. You may return to your duties."

Runessa nodded and her image disappeared as the floating window closed.

"Surely you don't trust her?" Grenada questioned, incredulous, from where she leaned casually against the wall. "You can tell that she's... got issues."

"You mean she's focused on vengeance, instead of faith?" Dagger inquired, a note of amusement in his voice. "It is true that she has certain... negative traits, but that also makes her predictable. And useable. I suspected the Bureau might attempt a trap."

Grenada raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we be staying out of it, then?"

He paused, a slow grin widening across his face. "The best way to handle a trap, is to trigger it."

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

Hopefully, I've tied a few things together here, which should make the plotlines easier to follow. If you are familiar with the characters in Vividand Sound Stage X, then you should be able to start drawing connections. It should be a bit obvious by now, but I'm basically combining those two stories into mine, but with my own twists and changes.

Anyway, stay tuned for chapter 7: "Betrayal"


End file.
